Critical Minerals, China’s Export Controls, and What U.S. Manufacturers Must Do Next

In this episode of US Manufacturing Today (powered by Veryable), Matt Horine speaks with critical-minerals investor and Mineral War author Tomasz Nadrowski about how manufacturers are entering an era of conflict in which security of supply overtakes lowest-cost sourcing. They discuss China’s dominance across many critical minerals, how export controls and selective restrictions can weaponize a monopoly, and why rebuilding Western midstream processing is difficult after decades of decline in US smelting and refining capacity. Tomasz explains the “car crash vs. cancer” analogy for slow-moving supply-chain dependence, highlights a byproduct pricing failure using gallium in the aluminum/bauxite supply chain, and warns against assuming suspensions of controls mean “problem solved.” He urges manufacturers to diversify away from PRC inputs, treat procurement strategically, and adopt AI on the factory floor for productivity and flexibility. Timestamps 00:00 Podcast Welcome 00:41 Critical Minerals Threat 01:07 Meet Tomasz 02:17 Conflict Changes Manufacturing 03:49 Ten Year Planning Window 05:33 Monopoly Versus Weapon 08:41 America Midstream Gap 11:21 Car Crash Versus Cancer 14:08 Scrolling Mineral Addiction 15:48 Byproduct Pricing Failure 18:34 Reprieve And January Deadline 22:04 Sourcing Map Playbook 24:02 Capex And Cold War Opportunity 26:31 Friendshoring In Americas 27:53 One Takeaway For Leaders 29:29 Book And Where To Follow 30:42 Final Wrap And Subscribe Links Tomasz on LinkedIn Mineral War on Amazon Revitalizing US Manufacturing⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign Up on the Veryable Platform