EMA Forms the Minerals Supply Chain Coalition to Strengthen Supply Chain Resiliency

Arlington, Va., Nov. 20, 2024 – The Essential Minerals Association (EMA), with support from partners BSI Group and Wood Mackenzie, has formed the Minerals Supply Chain Coalition (MSCC) to provide industry and businesses with timely and relevant information on issues surrounding the complex ecosystem of minerals supply chains.

“As we saw during the pandemic, supply chains around the world are incredibly vulnerable to any sort of disruption,” said Chris Greissing, EMA president. “The United Stated relies on imports for more than half of our consumption of nearly 50 mineral commodities. The Minerals Supply Chain Coalition will bring together the minerals industry and the businesses that rely on minerals to develop resources and find policy solutions that will strengthen supply chain resiliency.”

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, “the U.S. is reliant on imports for more than one-half of the U.S. apparent consumption for 49 nonfuel mineral commodities and 100 percent import dependent for 15 of them.” It is vital that businesses dependent on minerals to support their operations are aware of the threats looming in the supply chain. The MSCC provides a venue to coordinate efforts to address those issues.

The MSCC will host monthly meetings with world-class speakers and develop useful products for public policy teams to use as tools as they engage lawmakers and other stakeholders. Representatives from industries such as defense, automotive, consumer electronics, construction, housing, food, pharmaceuticals aerospace, and other manufacturing sectors that depend on mineral supplies, are invited to join.

EMA has joined with BSI Group and Wood Mackenzie as supporting partners. These two organizations come with a wealth of knowledge about the industry and supply chains. They offer critical resources that will help companies that join MSCC manage risk and move their business forward.

BSI is committed to helping companies design secure, sustainable, and resilient supply chains, incorporating 100+ years of experience in developing standards to guide improvement in identifying, managing, and mitigating risk all parts of the supply chain.

“BSI is thrilled to help launch the Minerals Supply Chain Coalition. The essential minerals companies represented in the coalition are shaping our world’s future in key industries such as electronics and battery storage, and they will need guidance on how to manage a wide range of complex supply chain challenges. BSI’s expertise in supply chain risk management will support MSSC companies in building and maintaining resiliency in these supply chains,” said Tony Pelli, Practice Director for Supply Chain Resilience and Risk Management at BSI.

Wood Mackenzie is the global insight business for renewables, energy and natural resources. It has deep domain expertise and over 50 years’ experience providing integrated data, analysis and insight to support our customers’ decision making across the value chains we cover.

“We are incredibly excited to support the EMA in launching the Minerals Supply Chain Coalition. Global supply chain dynamics for essential minerals is one of the big challenges facing industry participants today, and we can leverage our extensive Metals and Mining market knowledge to support the MSCC members in navigating this,” said Lindsay Grant, Head of Metals and Mining Markets Research at Wood Mackenzie.

Darrell Smith, EMA’s senior vice president for operations and development has been appointed as Executive Director of the coalition. Membership in the MSCC is free for EMA members and $1,250 per year for all other organizations. Those interested in membership should reach out to Darrell at darrellsmith@essentialminerals.org.

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The Essential Minerals Association (EMA) is the representative voice for companies that extract and process a vital and beneficial group of raw materials and minerals, which are the essential ingredients for many of the products used in everyday life. EMA ensures that the voices of its member companies and the socio-economic benefits they provide – from mining to end-use products – are heard by government leaders as well as the general public. Visit essentialminerals.org to learn more.