A new opinion column published by Fox News argues that the United States should move quickly to develop a massive graphite deposit on Alaska’s Seward Peninsula, warning that American dependence on China for critical minerals has become a national security liability.
The piece, written by Victoria Coates, contends that national security today extends beyond military hardware to include access to the raw materials needed to power data centers, build advanced technologies and supply American industry. It points to graphite as a case in point: a material essential to rechargeable batteries used in electric vehicles and energy storage, as well as in defense technologies, drones, advanced manufacturing and infrastructure supporting artificial intelligence.
According to the column, China has spent decades establishing dominant control over critical mineral supply chains, from mining through processing, and has shown willingness to restrict exports of strategically important materials for geopolitical leverage. The author argues the U.S. remains dependent on foreign sources, including China, for graphite despite the material’s importance.
The column highlights Alaska as a potential solution. It states that Alaska alone contains 57 of the 60 minerals the federal government has identified as critical to the nation’s economic and national security. Specifically, it points to Graphite Creek on Alaska’s Seward Peninsula, which the U.S. Geological Survey has recognized as the largest known graphite deposit in the United States and among the largest in the world.
The author argues that Graphite Creek could serve as the foundation for a fully integrated domestic graphite supply chain, but cautions that mining alone would not solve the underlying problem. Because China also dominates mineral processing, the column argues that a secure supply chain must extend from extraction through processing and into the manufacture of advanced materials for American industry.
The objective is straightforward: American resources, processed and manufactured in America, for American industry and national security.
The piece blames lengthy permitting processes, regulatory uncertainty and insufficient domestic investment in processing capacity for the slow pace of developing American mining and manufacturing projects. As a result, it argues, materials have increasingly been imported from countries where environmental, labor and safety standards may be lower than those in the United States.
The author calls for predictable and efficient permitting processes that do not abandon rigorous environmental standards, along with investment in domestic processing and advanced materials manufacturing. The column frames the development of Graphite Creek as a central piece of that effort, describing it as a step toward securing the country’s economic and defense future.
