We are excited to announce our upcoming annual conference with the Irregular Warfare Initiative (IWI). This year, we’re focusing on the vital role strategic resources play in our national security. Register here, or click the button below:
From July 21 – 22, we’ll host between 400 and 600 leaders from the military, industry, and academia at Carahsoft Headquarters in Reston, Virginia.
For two days of expert-led panels, we will dive into the increased demand for rare earth elements and critical minerals across the energy, technology, and defense sectors, and discuss how this impacts our national security and competition with peer and near-peer adversaries.
Our first day of panels will address the complex supply chains for acquiring rare earth minerals and how non-state actors and proxies impact our ability to resource needed materials. We will also discuss the roles the private sector and the government play in gaining access.
The second day will focus on paths forward in shoring up the resources we need to fulfill our national security needs. While senior stakeholders take part in an invite-only tabletop exercise, panelists will discuss the innovations that are enhancing resource security, and paths to building stable access to resources, including extraction.
We have covered a number of topics surrounding critical minerals, including the conflict zones where natural resources are adding to disorder. You can find several recent pieces at our blog:
IRC Declares “New World Disorder” – Many of the “watchlist countries” named by the International Rescue Committee where conflict is raging involve struggles over natural resources.
America’s Critical Minerals Should Stay Home: Recycling for Security: IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) companies like Mender could help keep critical minerals in office products in the U.S. with appropriate domestic recycling measures.
America’s Defense Depends on Minerals We Don’t Control: SOAA board member Eric Muschinski discusses the importance of critical strategic mining
Registration for this two-day event is open now. Please join us and be part of these crucial discussions. Register here.
