US Should Persuade Brazil to Join Minerals Alliance to Secure Key Metal for Hypersonic Missiles: Researchers

Researchers suggest that the US should convince Brazil to participate in a minerals alliance in order to secure a crucial metal for hypersonic missiles.

March 11, 2024 TruthUSA

The Pentagon warned Congress last year that China already “has the world’s leading hypersonic arsenal.”

The United States needs to fortify its supply chain of niobium, a key metal in the production of hypersonic missiles, as China aims for technological and military preeminence, according to experts from Washington-based think tanks the Atlantic Council and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Guido L. Torres, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, and three CSIS researchers, discussed how Brazil is one of the largest niobium producers, making it important for the United States and its like-minded allies that the South American country choose to join the U.S.-led Minerals Security Partnership over overtures from China, according to their commentary article published on March 4.

“China’s hypersonic resolve has been remarkable. By 2018, it had conducted over 20 times as many tests as the United States. According to the Pentagon, the United States is still lagging. This hypersonic prowess, combined with China’s stranglehold on niobium, places the United States in a perilous position,” the four researchers wrote.

Pentagon, in its annual report to Congress last year, warned that China already “has the world’s leading hypersonic arsenal,” which includes the DF-17 medium-range ballistic missiles that can be armed with hypersonic glide vehicles. According to the report, China intends to use hypersonic weapons like DF-17 to target foreign military bases and fleets in the Western Pacific.

Established in 2022, the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) is currently a collaboration between 14 nations and the European Union over mining, extracting, processing, and refining critical minerals. The countries include Australia, Canada, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the United States.

In February, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brasilia, Brazil. According to a readout of the meeting from the State Department, Mr. Blinken “noted the importance of strengthening cooperation on critical minerals with Brazil, including through the Minerals Security Partnership.”

Niobium Alloys

Alloys, which are mixtures of two or more metals, can have different properties like strength through modifying composition ratios. For example, an alloy of niobium and titanium forms a superconductor that is used in magnet resonance imaging (MRI) scanners.

A niobium alloy known as C-103—which is a mixture of about 89 percent niobium, 10 percent hafnium, and about one percent titanium—has been in the aerospace industry for decades, as the alloy can withstand high stresses at extremely high temperatures.

The C-103 alloy has been the material of choice for the rocket nozzle for decades, from the Apollo space program to Elon Musk’s Falon rockets. Now, the same alloy is a key material for the development of hypersonic vehicles, which travel at five times the speed sound, or Mach 5.

China tested hypersonic glide vehicles dropped from a balloon in 2018, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. (Screenshot via CCTV)

The United States relies heavily on imports to fill its niobium needs. According to data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), there has been no significant niobium mine production in the United States since 1959.

In 2023, the United States imported 9,400 tons of niobium, with Brazil accounting for 66 percent of the import and Canada 26 percent, according to USGS. The agency also noted that Brazil, with the world’s largest niobium reserves, exported 50,556 tons of niobium from January to August last year, most of which went to China, followed by the Netherlands and Singapore.

The researchers noted that U.S. reliance on Brazil and Canada “exposes the United States to considerable national security and economic vulnerabilities.”

Meanwhile, China has made inroads into Brazil’s niobium market. According to the researchers, five Chinese companies acquired a 15 percent stake in Brazilian niobium producer CBMM in 2011, and another Chinese company secured ownership of niobium mines in 2016. By 2020, Chinese entities had control of about 26 percent of Brazil’s niobium production, the researchers added.

A view of a niobium mining facility owned by China Molybdenum Co Ltd (CMOC) is seen in Catalao, Goias state, Brazil on Oct. 3, 2018. (Jake Spring/Reuters)

“China’s influence over Brazil’s niobium production conforms to a pattern of growing ownership and sway over the regional mining industry, a trend with substantial environmental, political, and security implications,” the researchers wrote.

“Such tactics could force nations into making diplomatic compromises, ceding trade advantages, or grappling with economic dilemmas, thereby solidifying China’s geopolitical standing.”

If Brazil decides to join the MSP, it could be “instrumental in mitigating China’s dominant influence in the niobium market,” according to the researchers.

Recommendation

The researchers also offered other recommendations. They said that the Elk Creek project in Nebraska “represents a commendable step toward addressing this vulnerability domestically.”

The Elk Creek project is being developed by NioCorp Developments Ltd. Once completed, it will be North America’s only mining and processing facility to produce niobium, scandium, and titanium, according to the company’s website.

NioCorp’s CEO and Executive Chairman Mark A. Smith is scheduled to speak during the SAFE Summit in Washington from March 12 to March 13. He will speak on the first day, during a session titled “Crippling America Without Firing a Shot: China’s Extreme Critical Minerals Leverage.”

Canada, which has the world’s second-largest niobium reserves after Brazil, is an “ideal partner” for the United States, the researchers said, as the two neighbors could facilitate joint ventures in niobium exploration and development.

Measures must also be taken to expand the reserves of niobium and other strategic minerals at the National Defense Stockpile (NDS), the researchers added.

Source link