Legislature(2023 - 2024)SENATE FINANCE 532
03/13/2024 01:30 PM Senate FINANCE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB118 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | SB 118 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 260 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE
March 13, 2024
1:37 p.m.
1:37:10 PM
CALL TO ORDER
Co-Chair Olson called the Senate Finance Committee meeting
to order at 1:37 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Donny Olson, Co-Chair
Senator Bert Stedman, Co-Chair
Senator Click Bishop
Senator Jesse Kiehl
Senator Kelly Merrick
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Lyman Hoffman, Co-Chair
Senator David Wilson
ALSO, PRESENT
Senator Kelly Merrick, Sponsor; Kerry Crocker, Staff,
Senator Kelly Merrick.
PRESENT VIA TELECONFERENCE
Lance Miller, Vice President of Natural Resources, NANA,
Anchorage; Karen Matthias, Executive Director, Alaska Metal
Mines, Anchorage; Melanie Werdon, Director, Division of
Geological and Geophysical Survey, Department of Natural
Resources, Fairbanks; Sandra Moller, Director, Division of
Community and Regional Affairs, Department of Commerce,
Community and Economic Development, Anchorage.
SUMMARY
SB 118 CRITICAL NATURAL RESOURCES; REPORTS
SB 118 was HEARD and HELD in committee for
further consideration.
SENATE BILL NO. 118
"An Act relating to critical and essential minerals
and the global energy transition."
1:38:04 PM
SENATOR KELLY MERRICK, SPONSOR, introduced the legislation.
She read from the Sponsor Statement (copy on file):
Critical and essential minerals comprise a wide range
of elements, including lithium, copper, platinum,
zinc, and more. These minerals are fundamental
components of much of today's everyday equipment, like
computers and household appliances. To keep our
economy and our day-to-day lives moving forward, we
need to ensure we have a plan for accessing these
crucial resources as their demand increases. More and
more renewable energy sources require components made
of these materials as well, and that demand is likely
to increase, possibly exponentially. Critical and
essential minerals are key elements of emerging energy
technologies, ranging from electric vehicles to solar
panels.
The strategic plans that come out of SB 118 analyze
the impacts of different regulatory frameworks on
mineral development, and include considerations for
economic viability, environmental sustainability, and
efficient production processes. Alaska's commitment to
advancing renewable energy is pivotal for a
sustainable future and our commitment to production of
critical minerals is pivotal for our own economy.
Senate Bill 118 is a forward-looking initiative that
recognizes the critical role Alaska can play in
advancing the global energy transition through
industry and resources that have played such important
roles in our state's past and present.
1:40:12 PM
KERRY CROCKER, STAFF, SENATOR KELLY MERRICK, discussed the
Sectional Analysis (copy on file):
Section 1: Adds a new section to uncodified law to
produce three reports:
1. The Office of the Governor shall generate a plan
for the exploration, production, refining, and
development of critical and essential minerals used in
emerging technology.
2. The Department of Natural Resources shall compare
Alaska's current and potential critical mineral
production to national and international production,
including regulation, permitting, and incentives. The
report should identify strategies to increase
exploration and development over the next three, five,
and ten years.
3. The Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic
Development shall identify the state's role in
innovation, manufacturing, and transportation to
support the global green energy transition.
1:41:56 PM
LANCE MILLER, VICE PRESIDENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES, NANA,
ANCHORAGE (via teleconference), discussed the presentation,
"Framing Alaska's Role in the Critical Minerals Space"
(copy on file). He pointed to slide 2, "Demand for Metals:
The global population will drive much of the demand":
After over 7,000 years metals are again (still)
important!
And now the national aspiration for more renewables.
Mr. Miller suggested that the global population alone would
drive much of the demand for metals. He pointed to the
right side of the slide which chowed a bar graph of various
metals. He shared that oil was a relatively new extraction
when compared to metals. He noted that in the last few 100
years the earth had added billions of people. He pointed
out that Millennials have outnumbered Baby Boomers;
Generation Alpha has outnumbered Millennials. He spoke of
the increase of resource use as work continued to move
populations out of poverty.
1:43:57 PM
Mr. Miller displayed slide 3, "Mining Activity in Alaska."
The slide contained a map of the state with indicators of
the various mining activities in Alaska. He stated that if
The United States were to use the same density of Metal
mines as British Columbia, Alaska would have 18 metal
mines. He stressed that Alaska has a high potential for
geological prospectivity.
Mr. Miller highlighted slide 4, "How long it takes?.18-20
years to build a mine and? -for every 1000-3000 prospects,
less than 2 percent go to prefeasibility." He noted that it
can take decades to build a mine. He thought that the graph
highlighted the technical aspects from prefeasibility to
fruition of a mine.
Mr. Miller discussed slide 5, "Now there are more cell
phones than people in the world (Consumer driven)." The
slide showed a model of one of the first cell phone designs
and a to-date Apple cell phone with a periodic table under
each phone indicating the metals used in each. He noted
that the smartphones of today use twice the metals as the
older version. He contended that as technology advanced the
demand for metals will increase.
1:46:06 PM
Mr. Miller pointed to slide 6, "Critical Minerals and
Energy Transition (Consumer uptake is slow)." The slide
illustrated the number of metals necessary in electric cars
versus conventional cars. He said that the projected amount
of copper needed in the next 25 years has been mined in the
history of copper mining.
1:47:03 PM
Mr. Miller addressed slide 7, "Red Dog: A Critical Minerals
Mine (Zn-Pb-Ag-Ge)":
"With zinc added to the list of minerals and metals
critical to the U.S., world-class mine in Northwest
Alaska is now top dog.
-North of 60 Mining News March 4, 2022
He noted that the metals mined at the Red Dog mine included
zinc, lead, silver, and germanium. He shared that the
global demand for germanium consumption was 30 tons, which
made it a strategic mineral.
1:47:45 PM
Mr. Miller pointed to slide 8, "Many CM and REE's are
Byproducts of Major Metal Production they are not economic
to mine in their own right."
1:48:21 PM
Mr. Miller discussed slide 9, "The BRI and China's
International Trade." The slide showed a map of Chinas
major BRI overland and maritime corridors. Chinas. The
slide stated that 60 percent of critical mineral processing
is in China.
1:49:36 PM
Mr. Miller highlighted slide 10, "Considerations Moving
Ahead":
Domestic metal production, processing and
manufacturing is not ready to accommodate projected
demand (project pipeline is small and lead times long
due to metals cycles, permitting, logistics,
financing, workforce, social pressures)
Alaska has mineral resource potential yet it needs
more focused exploration and research to define
deposits. A second step is to define the processing
opportunity/capability.
New federal policies/financing/subsidies are required
to meet the audacious metal demand goals (if the US
wants a secure domestic supply chain).
Alaska needs a Critical Minerals Strategy
1:50:59 PM
Mr. Miller looked at slide 11:
"mining is not everything, but without mining
everything is nothing.
-Max Plank; Nobel prize winner in physics and
known as the originator of quantum theory
Mr. Miller thanked the committee for their time.
1:51:23 PM
Co-Chair Olson recalled that there was a rare earth metals
deposit in Southeast Alaska and wondered whether it was on
the map on slide 3.
1:51:40 PM
Mr. Miller replied that the deposit in Bokan Mountain was
not on the map. He said that mines on the map were either
being produced or had completed a prefeasibility study.
1:52:03 PM
Co-Chair Olson asked whether the mountain contained a
significant deposit.
1:52:07 PM
Mr. Miller responded that he could not speak to the market
about the elements in the deposit.
1:52:56 PM
KAREN MATTHIAS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ALASKA METAL MINES,
ANCHORAGE (via teleconference), spoke in support of the
legislation.
1:57:05 PM
Co-Chair Olson noted that there were two fiscal notes.
1:57:37 PM
MELANIE WERDON, DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF GEOLOGICAL AND
GEOPHYSICAL SURVEY, DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES,
FAIRBANKS (via teleconference), explained the fiscal note
from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
1:58:33 PM
SANDRA MOLLER, DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL
AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT, ANCHORAGE (via teleconference), explained the
fiscal note from the Department of Commerce, Community and
Economic Development (DCCED).
1:59:43 PM
Co-Chair Olson OPENED and CLOSED public testimony.
2:00:04 PM
Senator Bishop cited the current report from the Alaska
Minerals Commission and stressed the need for a
comprehensive mineral development plan.
SB 118 was HEARD and HELD in committee for further
consideration.
ADJOURNMENT
2:01:59 PM
The meeting was adjourned at 2:01 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SB 118 Sponsor Statement 2.1.24.pdf |
SFIN 3/13/2024 1:30:00 PM SRES 2/2/2024 3:30:00 PM |
SB 118 |
| SB118 Supporting Document - 2022 U.S. Net Import Reliance.pdf |
SFIN 3/13/2024 1:30:00 PM SRES 2/2/2024 3:30:00 PM |
SB 118 |
| SB 118 Sectional Analysis 2.1.24.pdf |
SFIN 3/13/2024 1:30:00 PM SRES 2/2/2024 3:30:00 PM |
SB 118 |
| SB 118 Senate Finance March 13 2024 final.pdf |
SFIN 3/13/2024 1:30:00 PM |
SB 118 |
| SB 118 Supporting Document - 2022 Critical Minerals List.pdf |
SFIN 3/13/2024 1:30:00 PM |
SB 118 |
| SB 118 Presentation 2.1.24.pdf |
SFIN 3/13/2024 1:30:00 PM SRES 2/2/2024 3:30:00 PM |
SB 118 |
| SB 118 Letter of Support for SB 118 - Critical and Essential Mineral Reporting.pdf |
SFIN 3/13/2024 1:30:00 PM |
SB 118 |