THE US will prohibit exports of certain used critical minerals as it moves to secure military supply chains and reduce reliance on China for metals, said the Financial Times.
The Bureau of Industry and Security announced a year-long ban on Tuesday covering “black mass,” produced by shredding batteries, and scrap tungsten used in defence applications.
China dominates production of numerous metals essential to defence, technology and energy industries and has restricted access to such materials amid a trade dispute with Washington. This underscored the risks of dependence on a single supplier.
Other nations, led by the US, are now racing to develop alternative supplies and boost domestic recycling, said the newspaper.
President Donald Trump directed the commerce department last week to draft the restrictions, citing an “inadequate supply” of certain metals that “poses an increasing risk to our national defense and security.”
Under the new rules, US sellers of black mass and tungsten scrap must sell only to domestic buyers unless granted an exception. The measures, described by pricing agency Argus as unprecedented in recent US history, take effect later this month.
Tungsten, used in munitions, has grown scarce amid global rearmament, conflicts in Iran and Ukraine, and Chinese export curbs, sending its price sharply higher this year.
The US has no active tungsten mines. Black mass, containing lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese and graphite, is also largely processed in Asia. The EU plans similar restrictions on black mass exports from November, said the FT.
