U.S. officials have spoken at length about the urgent need to end their country’s dependency on China for the critical resources needed to power next-generation mobility and technology.
Part of the solution, they say, is to compete directly with the Chinese for lithium, cobalt, and other critical mineral mining rights around the world. The problem is that few U.S. mining companies today do that kind of work in Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia, where these resources are found.
But the U.S. is geologically endowed, prompting loud calls to mine these resources at home — which raises another problem.
In his new book “The War Below,” Reuters correspondent Ernest Scheyder explains how powerful stakeholders have made it very difficult for U.S. mining companies to operate domestically. Ernest joins Eric & Géraud to explain why the politics of mining make it nearly impossible for the U.S. to compete with China for critical resources.
Show Notes:
- CNBC: U.S. government researchers visit a Korean mine as the race against China for critical minerals heats up by Evelyn Cheng
- Reuters: Wary of Trump, US minerals projects rush to close government loans by Ernest Scheyder
- South China Morning Post: US senators introduce bill confronting China’s dominance in critical minerals by Bochen Han
About Ernest Scheyder:
Ernest Scheyder is an award-winning journalist, author, and senior correspondent for Reuters. He specializes in distilling complex topics for a wide range of audiences, including and especially everyday consumers directly affected by regulatory, political, and industry transitions. In 2024, he published the widely acclaimed book The War Below: Lithium, Copper, and the Global Battle to Power Our Lives (One Signal/Simon & Schuster), a human-focused narrative exploring the people who live on the energy transition’s front lines and an urgent guide to the rapidly growing critical minerals supply chain. The book was named a top pick by Fortune’s editors and earned plaudits from The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Marketplace, Barron’s, WBUR’s On Point, Science magazine, The Christian Science Monitor, BBC World, Kirkus (starred review) and many others. Energy historian Daniel Yergin declared the book “vividly captures the physical and political landscape over which the future is being fought.” A native of Maine, Ernest’s interest in journalism and writing began when he founded his high school newspaper. He attended the University of Maine and Columbia Journalism School. He joined The Associated Press as a business reporter in 2007, just before the fall of Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns, helping to chronicle the early days of the global financial crisis.
