Department of the Interior February 16, 2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On Wednesday, March 21, 2018, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will open and publicly announce bids received for blocks offered in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Region-wide Oil and Gas Lease Sale 250 (GOM Region-wide Sale 250), in accordance with the provisions of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), as amended, and the implementing regulations issued pursuant thereto. The GOM Region-wide Sale 250 Final Notice of Sale (NOS) package contains information essential to potential bidders.

The United States is heavily reliant on imports of certain mineral commodities that are vital to the Nation's security and economic prosperity. This dependency of the United States on foreign sources creates a strategic vulnerability for both its economy and military to adverse foreign government action, natural disaster, and other events that can disrupt supply of these key minerals. Pursuant to Executive Order 13817 issued on December 20, 2017, ``A Federal Strategy To Ensure Secure and Reliable Supplies of Critical Minerals,'' the Secretary of the Interior presents a draft list of 35 mineral commodities deemed critical under the definition provided in the Executive Order. Specifically, an analysis using multiple criteria identified 35 minerals or mineral material groups that are currently considered critical. These include: Aluminum (bauxite), antimony, arsenic, barite, beryllium, bismuth, cesium, chromium, cobalt, fluorspar, gallium, germanium, graphite (natural), hafnium, helium, indium, lithium, magnesium, manganese, niobium, platinum group metals, potash, rare earth elements group, rhenium, rubidium, scandium, strontium, tantalum, tellurium, tin, titanium, tungsten, uranium, vanadium, and zirconium. These commodities merit consideration in furthering the policy of the Federal Government to reduce the Nation's vulnerability for the security and prosperity of the United States. A summary report describing the methodologies and data sources used to develop the draft critical minerals list may be accessed at https:// doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181021. The Department of the Interior (DOI) seeks comments addressing the following topics: The make-up of the draft list and the rationale associated with potential additions or subtractions to the draft list.