This October in the heart of the Idaho Cobalt Belt, Australian mining company Jervois commissioned the only primary cobalt mine in the United States. Jervois estimates the mine will produce 1,915 metric tons of cobalt annually. But, for mined cobalt— known as “ore”—to be used in key applications like alloyed magnets in F-35 fighter jet engines, ore must first be refined. And the United States has zero cobalt refineries.
This lack of domestic refining capacity plagues other American critical minerals, including rare earth element ore which is currently shipped to China for refining. To bolster American supply chains and protect US national security, the US government must expedite federal permitting so that more critical minerals are mined and refined in America.
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