Powering the 21st Century with American Copper

Today, the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources held an oversight hearing on the role of copper in U.S. economic strength, national security and energy. Subcommittee Chairman Pete Stauber (R-Minn.) issued the following statement in response:

"Copper is a necessary component of modern life, used in everything from cellphones, home appliances and our transmission infrastructure to military aircraft and defense systems. With the global demand for copper projected to increase by 50% over the next fifteen years, it is imperative that we increase domestic production here in the United States to reduce dependence on our foreign adversary China for these key resources and hold our nation's future in the palm of our own hands. House Republicans have acted to reform our broken permitting system, reduce red tape and pass legislation that enables our nation to domestically source these minerals and call on the Senate to act on these important pieces of legislation. As the Representative of the district with the largest copper-nickel deposit in North America, I know we can and must responsibly develop these resources and I appreciate my colleagues for recognizing the urgency of this challenge."

Background

Copper is a fundamental component of modern life, essential for the wiring, circuitry and motors that power technologies such as cellphones, laptops, home appliances, vehicles, aircraft and military systems. It is also critical for infrastructure, including piping for clean water, refrigerants and medical gases in hospitals. Reliable and affordable supplies of copper are vital to maintaining national security, energy security and economic competitiveness.

Demand for copper is expected to increase by 50% by 2040 due to rising global electricity needs, expanding technologies such as artificial intelligence and use in renewable energy, electric vehicles and batteries. At the same time, China dominates copper processing, leveraging global dependency to exert geopolitical influence over the United States and its allies.

The hearing focused on the need for policies to strengthen domestic mining and processing, including improving permitting processes, advancing innovation and securing affordable, reliable and resilient supplies of copper to power our way of life.