Ernest Scheyder, Jeff Mason

WASHINGTON (Reuters] – U.S. Vice President Joe Biden plans Tuesday to highlight the progress of government and private industries in boosting American mineral production for electric vehicles, cell phone, and weaponry, as well as other related electronic products, the White House stated.

Washington became increasingly worried that the United States’ low production of mineral resources essential to future technologies might make it more dependent upon China and other nations who have invested heavily in mining.

This has led to a variety of Biden’s and his predecessors trying to increase U.S. production of strategic minerals, while also balancing the opposition from indigenous and environmental groups to mining.

In a statement, the White House claimed that “Critical Minerals provide the building blocks to many modern technology and are essential for our nation’s security and economic prosperity”.

Biden will reveal that the U.S. Defense Department has granted MP Materials Inc $35,000,000 to process rare earths. These are the same elements used to create magnets in weapons and other consumer goods, the White House stated.

MP has received approximately $10 million from the Pentagon. MP controls the U.S.’s only rare earths mine, but relies on China to process it.

The White House announced that Las Vegas-based MP Materials would invest $700 Million in its own funds, and will create over 350 new jobs by 2024.

MP Materials refused to comment on the White House’s announcement. Jim Litinsky (the company’s chief executives) will be participating virtually. MP said that the company aims to have rare earths processed in California by the close of the year.

Berkshire Hathaway’s (NYSE:) Energy Renewables plans to announce that it will break ground in spring for a California facility where sustainable methods of producing lithium from geothermal brines.

The White House announced that the announcement would form part of multibillion-dollar investments in lithium production sustainable over five years.

Biden will also reveal that the Pentagon is planning to expand its inventory of strategic minerals. This news was first reported by Reuters last week.

Biden will be discussing the U.S. response in Ukraine to Russian aggression with a virtual gathering of labor and business leaders.

While he is trying to increase U.S. mineral production, the president blocked many proposed U.S. mining projects.

A proposed mine in Minnesota was blocked by the Biden Administration last month Antofagasta (LON:) Plc. It also took steps to stop development of a Nevada-based lithium mine by ioneer Ltd., and a Arizona-based copper mine by Rio Tinto (NYSE 🙂 Ltd.

Biden did not say much about his administration’s decision to block some mines but insisted on the need for increased domestic production.

Redwood Materials Inc (NYSE:) also made an announcement at the event. According to the White House, they will discuss a pilot project in partnership with Ford Motor Co (NYSE:) Co, Volvo and Ford Motor to recycle old lithium-ion battery packs from Nevada. This would allow for extraction of cobalt, nickel, and graphite.

Jennifer Granholm will be promoting a pilot $140m project to extract rare earth minerals from coal-ash. This was funded by Biden’s infrastructure law.

White House will highlight an agreement between Talon Metals Corp.and the United Steelworkers. This is to train workers near Talon Nickel’s Tamarack nickel mine in Minnesota. Talon has signed a Nickel Supply Agreement with Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:) Inc.

The White House stated that Talon also has agreed to be neutral in union organizing efforts. Biden is a big supporter of organized labour throughout his presidency.