[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3631 Reported in Senate (RS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 607
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3631
To require reports on critical mineral and rare earth element resources
around the world and a strategy for the development of advanced mining,
refining, separation, and processing technologies.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 18, 2024
Mr. Cornyn (for himself, Mr. Warner, Mr. Young, Mr. King, Mr. Lankford,
and Mr. Hickenlooper) introduced the following bill; which was read
twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
November 21, 2024
Reported by Mr. Manchin, with an amendment
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require reports on critical mineral and rare earth element resources
around the world and a strategy for the development of advanced mining,
refining, separation, and processing technologies.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>
<DELETED> This Act may be cited as the ``Critical Minerals Security
Act of 2024''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> In this Act:</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) Covered nation.--The term ``covered nation''
has the meaning given that term in section 4872 of title 10,
United States Code.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Critical mineral.--The term ``critical
mineral'' has the meaning given that term in section 7002(a) of
the Energy Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. 1606(a)).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) Foreign entity of concern.--The term ``foreign
entity of concern'' has the meaning given that term in section
40207 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (42 U.S.C.
18741).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) Rare earth elements.--The term ``rare earth
elements'' means cerium, dysprosium, erbium, europium,
gadolinium, holmium, lanthanum, lutetium, neodymium,
praseodymium, promethium, samarium, scandium, terbium, thulium,
ytterbium, and yttrium.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (5) United states person.--The term ``United
States person'' means--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) a United States citizen or an alien
lawfully admitted for permanent residence to the United
States; or</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) an entity organized under the laws of
the United States or of any jurisdiction within the
United States, including a foreign branch of such an
entity.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 3. REPORTS ON CRITICAL MINERAL AND RARE EARTH ELEMENT
RESOURCES.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary
of the Interior, in consultation with the heads of relevant Federal
agencies, shall submit to Congress a report on all critical mineral and
rare earth element resources around the world that includes--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) an assessment of--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) which of such resources are under the
control of a foreign entity of concern, including
through ownership, contract, or economic or political
influence;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) which of such resources are owned by,
controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or
direction of the United States or a country that is an
ally or partner of the United States;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) which of such resources are not owned
by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or
direction of a foreign entity of concern or a country
described in subparagraph (B); and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (D) in the case of such resources not
undergoing commercial mining, the reasons for the lack
of commercial mining;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) for each mine from which significant
quantities of critical minerals or rare earth elements are
being extracted, as of the date that is one year before the
date of the report--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) an estimate of the annual volume of
output of the mine as of that date;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) an estimate of the total volume of
mineral or elements that remain in the mine as of that
date;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C)(i) an identification of the country
and entity operating the mine; or</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) if the mine is operated by more than
one country or entity, an estimate of the output of
each mineral or element from the mine to which each
such country or entity has access; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (D) an identification of the ultimate
beneficial owners of the mine and the percentage of
ownership held by each such owner;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) for each mine not described in paragraph (2),
to the extent practicable--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) an estimate of the aggregate annual
volume of output of the mines as of the date that is
one year before the date of the report;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) an estimate of the aggregate total
volume of mineral or elements that remain in the mines
as of that date;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) an estimate of the aggregate total
output of each mineral or element from the mine to
which a foreign entity of concern has access;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4)(A) a list of key foreign entities of concern
involved in mining critical minerals and rare earth
elements;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) a list of key entities in the United States
and countries that are allies or partners of the United States
involved in mining critical minerals and rare earth elements;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) an assessment of the technical feasibility of
entities listed under subparagraphs (A) and (B) mining and
processing resources identified under paragraph (1)(C) using
existing advanced technology;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (5) an assessment, prepared in consultation with
the Secretary of State, of ways to collaborate with countries
in which mines or mineral processing operations (or both) are
located that are operated by other countries, or are operated
by entities from other countries, to ensure ongoing access by
the United States and countries that are allies and partners of
the United States to those mines and processing
operations;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (6) a list, prepared in consultation with the
Secretary of Commerce, identifying, to the maximum extent
practicable, all cases in which entities were forced to divest
stock in mining or processing operations for critical minerals
and rare earth elements based on--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) regulatory rulings of the government
of a covered nation;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) joint regulatory rulings of such a
government and the government of another country;
or</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) rulings of a relevant tribunal or
other entity authorized to render binding decisions on
divestiture;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (7) a list of all cases in which the government of
a covered nation purchased an entity that was forced to divest
stock as described in paragraph (6); and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (8) a list of all cases in which mining or
processing operations (or both) for critical minerals and rare
earth elements that were not subject to a ruling described in
paragraph (6) were taken over by--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) the government of a covered nation;
or</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) an entity located in, or influenced or
controlled by, such a government.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Form of Report.--Each report required by subsection
(a) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a
classified annex if necessary.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 4. PROCESS FOR NOTIFYING UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT OF
DIVESTMENT.</DELETED>
<DELETED> Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the
Secretary of State, shall establish a process under which--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) a United States person seeking to divest stock
in mining or mineral processing operations for critical
minerals and rare earth elements in a foreign country may
notify the Secretary of the intention of the person to divest
such stock; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) the Secretary may provide assistance to the
person to find a purchaser that is not under the control of the
government of a covered nation.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 5. STRATEGY ON DEVELOPMENT OF ADVANCED MINING, REFINING,
SEPARATION, AND PROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior, in
consultation with the heads of relevant Federal agencies, shall
develop--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) a strategy to collaborate with the governments
of countries that are allies and partners of the United States
to develop advanced mining, refining, separation, and
processing technologies; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) a method for sharing the intellectual property
resulting from the development of such technologies with those
countries to enable those countries to license such
technologies and mine, refine, separate, and process the
resources of such countries.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Reports Required.--Not later than one year after the
date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the
Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the progress made in
developing the strategy and method described in subsection
(a).</DELETED>
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Critical Minerals Security Act of
2024''.
SEC. 2. REPORTS ON CRITICAL MINERAL AND RARE EARTH ELEMENT RESOURCES.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Covered nation.--The term ``covered nation'' has the
meaning given that term in section 4872 of title 10, United
States Code.
(2) Critical mineral.--The term ``critical mineral'' has
the meaning given that term in section 7002(a) of the Energy
Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. 1606(a)).
(3) Foreign entity of concern.--The term ``foreign entity
of concern'' has the meaning given that term in section 40207
of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (42 U.S.C.
18741).
(4) Rare earth elements.--The term ``rare earth elements''
means cerium, dysprosium, erbium, europium, gadolinium,
holmium, lanthanum, lutetium, neodymium, praseodymium,
promethium, samarium, scandium, terbium, thulium, ytterbium,
and yttrium.
(5) United states person.--The term ``United States
person'' means--
(A) a United States citizen or an alien lawfully
admitted for permanent residence to the United States;
or
(B) an entity organized under the laws of the
United States or of any jurisdiction within the United
States, including a foreign branch of such an entity.
(b) Reports on Critical Mineral and Rare Earth Element Resources.--
(1) In general.--Not later than one year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the
Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary
of Energy and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies,
shall submit to Congress a report on all critical mineral and
rare earth element resources (including recyclable or recycled
materials containing such resources) around the world that
includes--
(A) an assessment of--
(i) which of such resources are under the
control of a foreign entity of concern,
including through ownership, contract, or
economic or political influence;
(ii) which of such resources are owned by,
controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction
or direction of the United States or a country
that is an ally or partner of the United
States;
(iii) which of such resources are not owned
by, controlled by, or subject to the
jurisdiction or direction of a foreign entity
of concern or a country described in clause
(ii); and
(iv) in the case of such resources not
undergoing commercial mining, the reasons for
the lack of commercial mining;
(B) for each mine from which significant quantities
of critical minerals or rare earth elements are being
extracted, as of the date that is one year before the
date of the report--
(i) an estimate of the annual volume of
output of the mine as of that date;
(ii) an estimate of the total volume of
mineral or elements that remain in the mine as
of that date;
(iii)(I) an identification of the country
and entity operating the mine; or
(II) if the mine is operated by more than
one country or entity, an estimate of the
output of each mineral or element from the mine
to which each such country or entity has
access; and
(iv) an identification of the ultimate
beneficial owners of the mine and the
percentage of ownership held by each such
owner;
(C) for each mine not described in subparagraph
(B), to the extent practicable--
(i) an estimate of the aggregate annual
volume of output of the mines as of the date
that is one year before the date of the report;
(ii) an estimate of the aggregate total
volume of mineral or elements that remain in
the mines as of that date; and
(iii) an estimate of the aggregate total
output of each mineral or element from the mine
to which a foreign entity of concern has
access;
(D)(i) a list of key foreign entities of concern
involved in mining critical minerals and rare earth
elements;
(ii) a list of key entities in the United States
and countries that are allies or partners of the United
States involved in mining critical minerals and rare
earth elements; and
(iii) an assessment of the technical feasibility of
entities listed under clauses (i) and (ii) mining and
processing resources identified under subparagraph
(A)(iii) using existing advanced technology;
(E) an assessment, prepared in consultation with
the Secretary of State, of ways to collaborate with
countries in which mines, mineral processing
operations, or recycling operations (or any combination
thereof) are located that are operated by other
countries, or are operated by entities from other
countries, to ensure ongoing access by the United
States and countries that are allies and partners of
the United States to those mines and processing or
recycling operations;
(F) a list, prepared in consultation with the
Secretary of Commerce, identifying, to the maximum
extent practicable, all cases in which entities were
forced to divest stock in mining, processing, or
recycling operations (or any combination thereof) for
critical minerals and rare earth elements based on--
(i) regulatory rulings of the government of
a covered nation;
(ii) joint regulatory rulings of such a
government and the government of another
country; or
(iii) rulings of a relevant tribunal or
other entity authorized to render binding
decisions on divestiture;
(G) a list of all cases in which the government of
a covered nation purchased an entity that was forced to
divest stock as described in subparagraph (F); and
(H) a list of all cases in which mining,
processing, or recycling operations (or any combination
thereof) for critical minerals and rare earth elements
that were not subject to a ruling described in
subparagraph (F) were taken over by--
(i) the government of a covered nation; or
(ii) an entity located in, or influenced or
controlled by, such a government.
(2) Form of report.--Each report required by paragraph (1)
shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a
classified annex, if necessary.
(c) Process for Notifying United States Government of Divestment.--
Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act,
the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of
State, shall establish a process under which--
(1) a United States person seeking to divest stock in
mining, processing, or recycling operations for critical
minerals and rare earth elements in a foreign country may
notify the Secretary of the intention of the person to divest
such stock; and
(2) the Secretary may provide assistance to the person to
find a purchaser that is not under the control of the
government of a covered nation.
(d) Strategy on Development of Advanced Mining, Refining,
Separation, Processing, and Recycling Technologies.--
(1) In general.--Not later than one year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior, in
consultation with the Secretary of Energy and the heads of
other relevant Federal agencies, shall develop--
(A) a strategy to collaborate with the governments
of countries that are allies and partners of the United
States to develop advanced mining, refining,
separation, processing, and recycling technologies; and
(B) a method for sharing the intellectual property
resulting from the development of such technologies
with those countries to enable those countries to
license such technologies and mine, refine, separate,
process, and recycle the resources of such countries.
(2) Reports required.--Not later than one year after the
date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the
Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the progress
made in developing the strategy and method described in
paragraph (1).
Calendar No. 607
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3631
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require reports on critical mineral and rare earth element resources
around the world and a strategy for the development of advanced mining,
refining, separation, and processing technologies.
_______________________________________________________________________
November 21, 2024
Reported with an amendment