AP News, October 5th, 2007
Neither government nor industry has accurate information on the availability of minerals and other materials that may become critical for uses ranging from everyday household products to national defense, it was reported Friday.
The National Research Council said that more reliable information is needed on stockpiles, sources and possible disruptions of critical materials. An information gap exists, it said, and that's a perilous thought since no one can say with certainty when a particular material might become critical necessary for the economy or the needs of the military.
"In order to operate well, a stockpiling system needs to have detailed information about the specific material needs of the military and about any possible restrictions on the supply of those materials," Robert H. Latiff, chairman of a committee that looked at military needs, said in a statement. Latiff is a chief engineer and technology officer at Science Applications International Corp.
The National Defense Stockpile "neither collects nor has access to these types of data, which essentially removes the stockpile as an effective component of our nation's defense. We need a more comprehensive approach to managing the U.S. defense material needs," Latiff added.
Roderick G. Eggert, chair of the committee that studied mineral needs, and director of the division of economics and business at the Colorado School of Mines, said "industries dependent on minerals can be significantly influenced by supply disruptions, which might be avoided with better information.
"Consumers and producers would both greatly benefit from a systematic framework for evaluating minerals that are critical to the economy," he said.
The committee said that platinum group metals, rare earth elements, indium, manganese and niobium _ minerals used to make LCD TVs, catalytic converters, pacemakers and other products Americans rely on daily _ are currently highly critical. That means they are difficult or impossible to substitute, essential in their use and have potentially at-risk supplies.
They recommended that the U.S. Geological Survey or some other agency should be given the necessary funding and authority to collect minerals information.
They also called for a new approach for the National Defense Stockpile, with improved planning and building robust supply chains for essential materials to better reduce the impact of supply shortfalls or sudden surges in demand.
The National Research Council is an arm of the National Academy of Sciences, an independent organization chartered by Congress to advise the government on scientific matters.
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