Ted Doheny, President and CEO of Joy Global, is the featured guest this month on National Mining Association’s Newsmakers, the NMA public affairs video series launched earlier this year. In this, the fifth video in the series, the Doheny interview highlights high-tech mining machinery and the valuable role it plays in procuring the minerals and metals needed to meet manufacturing needs. In the interview, Doheny touched on the fact that America has vast reserves of minerals and metals that are critical to creating the innovative technology we use daily; however, reserves will not just be lying out there in an open field. Instead, Doheny explained, mining companies will need cutting-edge machinery to keep mineral supplies robust.

“Well, as we like to say, ‘It starts here.’ Meaning, in order to enjoy that tablet or other handheld electronic device you probably have nearby, you need minerals and metals,” Doheny said. “And to extract those minerals and metals, you need our mechanised machinery.”

Doheny then pointed out that up to 60 different minerals are used to make computer chips, while high-definition televisions require 35 different metals and smartphones can contain as many as 42 different minerals.

Unstable supply chains can lengthen production time, increase logistical and transportation costs, and diminish a manufacturer’s ability to ensure environmental and social accountability of sourced materials, Doheny explained.

But a predictable and steady supply of minerals and metals helps manufacturers keep the assembly lines moving and also produces great economic opportunity for America. It also fosters technological innovation that helps us maintain a high quality of life, Doheny said.

To create a robust supply of minerals, Doheny suggested instituting sensible and sound policies that address supply threats head-on.

“Critical minerals legislation passed in the House and proposed in the Senate is a good start,” Doheny said. “If we hope to support both manufacturers and innovators, we must reduce inefficiencies in the federal permitting process and work to invest in domestic minerals”