As artificial intelligence rapidly reshapes nearly every aspect of American life, a less visible but far more consequential challenge is emerging. The critical minerals that are essential to the weapons systems and platforms that underpin U.S. national security are also instrumental in powering the AI technological surge. Right now, access to these minerals is dominated by a single foreign source.
From rare earth elements to advanced metals, these sought after materials are overwhelmingly processed and refined overseas, largely under China’s control. The United States faces a stark choice: rebuild domestic industrial capacity, or continue to rely on a strategic competitor to power both our economy and our defense.
While there is a strong media focus on the energy consumed by AI data centers, the importance of critical minerals, which enable everything from advanced semiconductors to high-density data-center infrastructure, cannot be understated. Simultaneously, those same materials are embedded across nearly every Department of Defense mission and platform, whether indirectly, such as rare earth catalysts used in petroleum refining, or directly, including aluminum and titanium components in aircraft, missiles, and satellites.
Washington has begun to respond by introducing legislation like the SECURE Minerals Act, which would create a $2.5 billion Strategic Resilience Reserve, acknowledging the risks posed by China’s ability to manipulate global supply chains. That effort is a meaningful step in the right direction, but stockpiling alone won’t fix the problem. Without sustained investment in domestic processing and manufacturing, the United States will remain exposed.
Single points of failure in the supply chain expose our greatest weakness
The issue isn’t that the U.S. lacks raw resources. What we lack is the industrial midstream: the processing, refining, and materials conversion capacity needed to turn those resources into the metals, powders, and components required for defense and advanced technology.
For decades, America outsourced the most capital- and energy-intensive stages of manufacturing, hollowing out this middle layer of the supply chain. China filled that vacuum and now dominates the processing of rare earths, copper foil, nickel, graphite, gallium, and more, repeatedly using access as leverage over U.S. allies. If those supplies were disrupted, AI investment would stall, and American production of missiles, satellites, and semiconductors would begin slowing within months.
While policymakers have rightly focused on expanding domestic mining, far less attention has been paid to rebuilding the industrial middle. That imbalance has created dangerous single points of failure across U.S. supply chains.
Contrasted with China’s strategic dominance in this area, the lack of U.S. processing capabilities is stark. This discrepancy poses a significant national security challenge for the United States and many of its allies, which still lag when it comes to the capability to process raw minerals into purified metals and advanced materials needed to make many modern technologies.
Both government action and private sector execution are required to move the needle
Reclaiming America’s industrial independence requires more than mining permits or strategic stockpiles. It requires reconnecting the full industrial supply chain: recycling, processing, and advanced manufacturing into a resilient, domestic system. America’s industrial base is only as strong as the supply chains beneath it, and right now those chains remain dangerously exposed.
That is where government action and private-sector execution must meet. Federal investment and legislation can set direction and reduce risk, but only companies with real operational experience can turn those commitments into durable capacity. The SECURE Minerals Act points in the right direction, but success will be measured not by dollars authorized, but by materials produced at scale inside the United States.
National-security urgency will power American innovation with the right support
In order to create a scalable shift toward industrial independence, several priorities stand out for policymakers and investors alike. While U.S. policy is now mobilizing over $100 billion in funding for critical-minerals capacity, the opportunity lies in execution: transforming these investments into lasting capability, competitive industries, and jobs.
Policies must directly support processing and midstream manufacturing, not just extraction. The economic, technical, and financing barriers in the midstream are real, and ignoring them guarantees continued dependence on China.
TRUMP’S CRITICAL MINERAL STOCKPILE IS LONG PAST DUE
By aligning commercial success with national priorities, the U.S. will have the foundation to lead the next era of defense, AI, and energy innovation. Investing in American workers and communities is essential to secure durable economic opportunities–powering the industries of today and of the future.
The AI boom is accelerating demand. China’s willingness to weaponize its grip on mineral processing is growing. The question is no longer whether the United States can afford to rebuild its industrial backbone but whether we can afford not to. Reclaiming control of our supply chains isn’t just an economic imperative. It’s a national security necessity.
Adam Johnson is the CEO of Principal Mineral, an American company that provides critical minerals to U.S. defense, technology, and energy industries.
