06/18/26 Afternoon CommStock Report – Other US Rare Critical Material Shortages

  There are many critical materials needed for modern construction and technology that are not rare in terms of global supply or existence but are not domestically available in needed quantities requiring large imports. In a world in which countries are defined as strong or weak, the availability of these critical materials can define the balance of economic and political strength.   Does the US have enough Uranium? The short answer is “no”. The United States does not have enough domestically mined and enriched uranium to meet its current or future reactor needs. While the U.S. has significant uranium reserves, domestic mining accounts for only about 5-10% of the fuel consumed by U.S. nuclear power plants. That puts it in the same category as some rare earths relative to domestic production. It means that we have to obtain the uranium that we need through trade channels. Whoever has these critical materials has leverage and “cards to play” in US relations. President Trump recently stated that he did not care if the USMCA, now under review, is renewed. I took that statements as one of his exaggerated negotiating tactics but there can be a significant disruption of the existing supply chain…