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Just as the proud daughter reveals in our newest video, miners play an important role in preserving our national security.

For many Americans, the issue of national security conjures up images of heavy military artillery and radar systems, but without minerals, these technologies would not exist.

The U.S. Department of Defense uses three quarters of a million tons of minerals each year for protective gear, radar systems, tanks, aircraft carriers, missiles and more.

For the sake of these important end-products—in addition to the myriad technologies that civilians rely on—stable access to domestic minerals is imperative.

Currently, the United States is 100 percent import-reliant for 19 key minerals, and despite substantial domestic resources, we rely on China for 79 percent of our rare earth supplies.

Depending on foreign sources for minerals leaves the United States vulnerable to shortages and export bans, like the one recently imposed by Indonesia, that actually create national security concerns rather than solving them. 

Minerals are important to the American way of life and it’s time for leadership to support meaningful permitting reform for the sake of our military — and career days everywhere.