[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3631 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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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
_______________________________________________________________________
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,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Critical Minerals Security Act of
2024''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(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.
SEC. 3. REPORTS ON CRITICAL MINERAL AND RARE EARTH ELEMENT RESOURCES.
(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--
(1) an assessment of--
(A) which of such resources are under the control
of a foreign entity of concern, including through
ownership, contract, or economic or political
influence;
(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;
(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
(D) in the case of such resources not undergoing
commercial mining, the reasons for the lack of
commercial mining;
(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--
(A) an estimate of the annual volume of output of
the mine as of that date;
(B) an estimate of the total volume of mineral or
elements that remain in the mine as of that date;
(C)(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
(D) an identification of the ultimate beneficial
owners of the mine and the percentage of ownership held
by each such owner;
(3) for each mine not described in paragraph (2), to the
extent practicable--
(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;
(B) an estimate of the aggregate total volume of
mineral or elements that remain in the mines as of that
date;
(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;
(4)(A) a list of key foreign entities of concern involved
in mining critical minerals and rare earth elements;
(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
(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;
(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;
(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--
(A) regulatory rulings of the government of a
covered nation;
(B) joint regulatory rulings of such a government
and the government of another country; or
(C) rulings of a relevant tribunal or other entity
authorized to render binding decisions on divestiture;
(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
(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--
(A) the government of a covered nation; or
(B) an entity located in, or influenced or
controlled by, such a government.
(b) Form of Report.--Each report required by subsection (a) shall
be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex
if necessary.
SEC. 4. 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 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
(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.
SEC. 5. STRATEGY ON DEVELOPMENT OF ADVANCED MINING, REFINING,
SEPARATION, AND PROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES.
(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--
(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
(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.
(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).
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