ABSTRACT
Minerals provide the natural materials that form the basis for construction, for manufacturing, and for the metallurgical industries. The mineral demands resulting from today's technology in the United States and other developed countries are great, and those of many developing countries are increasing at rapidly steepening rates. In the United States the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended, provides the basis for defense-mobilization efforts; although the current Act expires on March 31, 1983, it will probably be extended. The DPA provides authority for establishing priorities and making allocations, and for expanding the supply of materials through specific provisions for mineral exploration, development, and mining, and for the development of substitutes. US vulnerability to mineral-supply interruptions must also include a consideration of the position of other developed nations of the Free World, as well as that of the Soviet Union and its satellites.
