Feb 27 -- The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Department of the Interior, invites comments to OMB by March 28, 2024 regarding the renewal of Ferrous Metals Surveys.
Respondents to these forms supply the USGS with domestic production and consumption data for 13 ores, concentrates, metals, and ferroalloys, some of which are considered strategic and critical, to assist in determining National Defense Stockpile goals. These data and derived information will be published as chapters in Mineral Yearbooks, monthly Mineral Industry Surveys, annual Mineral Commodity Summaries, and special publications for use by government agencies, Congressional offices, educational institutions, research organizations, financial institutions, consulting firms, industry, academia, and the general public.
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) has policy responsibility for the Nation’s mineral resources and their derived industries. The National Mining and Minerals Policy Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 21(a)) and the National Materials and Minerals Policy, Research and Development Act of 1980 (30 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) make it incumbent upon the Secretary of the Interior to collect, evaluate, and analyze information concerning mineral occurrence, production, and use and to inform the Congress of important developments, including crisis, in the minerals industries. Many of the responsibilities regarding mineral resources are assigned to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), where they are discharged through a staff of mineral commodity specialists and statistical assistants that includes chemists, economists, engineers, geologists, and physicists.
Two fundamental activities—mining and agriculture—form the basis of the Nation’s wealth because they furnish all the raw materials and most of the energy that are used in all other industries. Additionally, the mining industry supplies the raw materials to make fertilizers, pesticides, and soil conditioners that significantly enhance the performance of the agricultural sector. For those raw materials not produced domestically in sufficient quantities, supplies must be imported. This adversely affects the U.S. balance of trade and, for some materials, puts U.S. industries at risk of supply disruptions because of global political developments. Imports may also compete with domestic production thus jeopardizing U.S. jobs. Accordingly, the Government requires accurate, timely data on raw materials production and related industries to formulate policies that ensure national security and economic well-being. The USGS canvass forms are the fundamental means by which data on minerals, mining, and related materials production are obtained.
Ferrous metals are widely used and are essential metals in such sectors as construction, transportation, electronics, and chemicals. In terms of the quantity used and the value, iron, and iron steel scrap are the principal metals in the ferrous group. The ferrous metals group includes these metals and their ores as well as approximately eight other elemental metals. These include nickel, cobalt, manganese, niobium (columbium), tantalum, molybdenum, tungsten, and rhenium. These metals and the ores from which they are produced are widely used in virtually every sector of the U.S. economy, and almost all impart qualities that are not substitutable in their applications in the steel industry, electronics industry, and many other industries downstream.
USGS Mineral Commodity Statistics and Information
https://www.usgs.gov/programs/mineral-resources-program/science/mineral-commodity-statistics-and-information
USGS submission to OMB:
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=202310-1028-003 Click IC List for information collection instrument, View Supporting Statement for technical documentation. Submit comments through this webpage.
FRN:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2024-04026
For AEA members wishing to submit comments, "A Primer on How to Respond to Calls for Comment on Federal Data Collections" is available at
https://www.aeaweb.org/content/file?id=5806