By AZ Big Media
Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema led a letter joined by U.S. Senators Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), and Mitt Romney (R-Utah) urging U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to designate copper as an official U.S. Geological Survey Critical Mineral, emphasizing new analysis, and its well-documented importance to national security, water infrastructure, electrical and clean energy infrastructure, and more.
“By recognizing copper as a ‘critical mineral,’ the United States’ federal government can more effectively ensure a secure and reliable supply of domestic copper resources in the years to come at all points of the supply chain including recycling, mining, and processing. Given the enormous investment required, the time lag for new sources of supply, and projected demand, time is of the essence,” wrote the Senators.
Recognizing copper as a critical mineral would allow the U.S. government to more effectively ensure a secure and reliable supply of domestic copper resources in the years to come.
Recently, the Copper Development Association found that copper’s increased supply risk surpasses the U.S. Geological Survey threshold necessary to be added to the official critical minerals list. In their letter to Secretary Haaland, the Senators highlighted that the Copper Development
