The Department of Defense uses nearly 750,000 tons of minerals each year. Vital metals such as lead, copper and silver play a critical role in life-saving military gear and defense technologies deployed both in the U.S. and abroad. In addition, the U.S. military relies on lead batteries to keep our troops safe by providing backup power during emergencies and to power vehicles used for bomb detection and disposal. Read more here.

Hal Quinn, CEO and President of National Mining Association, and Phil Baker, CEO and President of Hecla Mining led an in-depth discussion with future national security policy influencers at the National Defense University on the importance of domestic metals and minerals to our country’s defense systems.

Seminar participants were primarily senior U.S. government officials and military officers who set the strategy and policies involving minerals-metals security for U.S. economic well-being and national security.