(a) Development, mining, preparation, treatment, and utilization of ores and other mineral substances

(1) The President shall make scientific, technologic, and economic investigations concerning the development, mining, preparation, treatment, and utilization of ores and other mineral substances that (A) are found in the United States, or in its territories or possessions, (B) are essential to the national defense, industrial, and essential civilian needs of the United States, and (C) are found in known domestic sources in inadequate quantities or grades.

(2) Such investigations shall be carried out in order to—

(A) determine and develop new domestic sources of supply of such ores and mineral substances;

(B) devise new methods for the treatment and utilization of lower grade reserves of such ores and mineral substances; and

(C) develop substitutes for such essential ores and mineral products.

(3) Investigations under paragraph (1) may be carried out on public lands and, with the consent of the owner, on privately owned lands for the purpose of exploring and determining the extent and quality of deposits of such minerals, the most suitable methods of mining and beneficiating such minerals, and the cost at which the minerals or metals may be produced.

(b) Development of sources of supplies of agricultural materials; use of agricultural commodities for manufacture of materials
The President shall make scientific, technologic, and economic investigations of the feasibility of developing domestic sources of supplies of any agricultural material or for using agricultural commodities for the manufacture of any material determined pursuant to section 98b(a) of this title to be a strategic and critical material or substitutes therefor.

(c) Development of sources of supply of other materials; development or use of alternative methods for refining or processing materials in stockpile
The President shall make scientific, technologic, and economic investigations concerning the feasibility of—

(1) developing domestic sources of supply of materials (other than materials referred to in subsections (a) and (b)) determined pursuant to section 98b(a) of this title to be strategic and critical materials; and

(2) developing or using alternative methods for the refining or processing of a material in the stockpile so as to convert such material into a form more suitable for use during an emergency or for storage.

(d) Grants and contracts to encourage conservation of strategic and critical materials
The President shall encourage the conservation of domestic sources of any material determined pursuant to section 98b(a) of this title to be a strategic and critical material by making grants or awarding contracts for research regarding the development of—

(1) substitutes for such material; or

(2) more efficient methods of production or use of such material.