U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today spoke with Jonathan Pratt, the Senior Bureau Official at the Bureau of African Affairs, and Scott Woodard, the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Economic Growth, Energy, and Environment in a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee hearing. Daines expressed his sympathy for the recent loss of life at Montana’s Stillwater Mine and emphasized the need to end America’s reliance on Russia for critical minerals.
Watch the full exchange HERE.
Daines addressed the recent loss of life at Montana’s Stillwater Mine:
Daines: Before engaging on this topic, I want to take a moment to recognize a community at the Stillwater Mine in Montana. That’s a palladium and platinum producer. As we confront these pressing geopolitical and economic threats at the mine it’s the people on the ground, the hard -working folks and their families who are truly the heart of the community. This past weekend there was a tragic loss of life incident at the Stillwater Mine. Our hearts break for the family and all those involved. It was an electrician, there was an electrical related incident that sadly resulted in a fatality. As you know, when that kind of thing happens, it’s a gut punch to everybody. [Stillwater] is a wonderful operation. [I’ve] been there. Leadership is fantastic. This has been a tough, tough several days. We’ll be working with close with the mine and the federal regulators to reaffirm our commitment for a safe and secure future for everybody at the mine and the broader community at large.
Daines emphasized the need to work with Africa and stop U.S. dependence on Russian critical minerals
Daines: There are three locations in the world that mine platinum and palladium. Very important components for catalytic converters found in automobiles. The three places are Russia, South Africa, and Montana. In Montana the Stillwater and East Boulder mines are the only primary producers of platinum and palladium in the United States and right now they’re being targeted by dumping from the Russians. For over a year Russia has been dumping palladium on the market to drive down prices in hopes of closing the mines in Montana, and making the United States dependent on Russians for this critical mineral. The irony behind all this is they’re dumping palladium in the United States, driving the price down. The mine had to lay off 700 workers because of the low prices, and yet we’re buying Russian palladium to help fund Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine. If we don’t act soon, this crisis is only going to grow greater and we’re going to see a sad reality of dependence on Russia for palladium instead of a Montana mine. Mr. Woodard and Mr. Pratt, the Montana platinum and palladium mines are owned and operated by the Sibanye-Stillwater, which are headquartered in South Africa. This partnership has ensured the United States and South Africa can continue to produce critical minerals even when prices are low. But the market manipulation by the Russians is a national security threat and one that we should aggressively counter and that’s why I’ve introduced Senate Bill 808, the “Stop Russian Market Manipulation Act,” to prohibit Russian imports of certain critical minerals. I’ve also urged President Trump to take action through trade remedies, sanctions, and the Defense Production Act. I’m also asking this committee to include language in the State Department reauthorization that will target Nornickle and other Russian bad actors. So, my questions for Mr. Woodard and Mr. Pratt, do you agree, and I’ll start with Mr. Woodard, that in order to bolster jobs, economic development, and national security in both the United States and Africa, we must take action to counter Russian illegal dumping?
Woodard: We’ve seen this administration emphasize things like emphasizing reforms that will make mining and processing easier in the United States, which could open up possibilities for greater investments, which would strengthen the capital foundation of some of these projects and allow them to compete a bit better…it was recently announced regarding rare earths with mountain pass, which is a floor price, is another option that maybe the administration can consider or has considered and may consider going forward to address some of these problems.
Pratt: I agree 100 percent with the question that we need to find ways to break monopolistic behavior.
Daines: We need the help of the Administration. And I think if there’s a chance, the quickest way to remedy this would be either a targeted sanction or a targeted tariff against Russian palladium coming to the United States. That could fix this problem quickly. As I’ve chatted with the mine officials, we could probably bring 500 of these jobs back in a very short period of time and importantly, restore the supply chain of Made-in-America palladium, instead of produced in Russia. So, this is where we could use the help, and it’s dire right now. The sooner, the better.
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Contact: Matt Lloyd, Gabby Wiggins