Episode 79: The Diplomatic Lens: Navigating the Geopolitics of Critical Minerals with Melissa Sanderson

Episode 79: The Diplomatic Lens: Navigating the Geopolitics of Critical Minerals with Melissa Sanderson

June 10, 2026 · 41 min · Season 1 · Episode 79

About this episode

Dr. Erin Phillips discusses the geopolitics of critical minerals with former diplomat Melissa Sanderson.

In this episode of Energy Frontier: The Wyoming Landscape, Dr. Erin Phillips, Acting Senior Director of Research at the School of Energy Resources, explores the intersection of international diplomacy and domestic resource security with Melissa Sanderson, a former senior U.S. diplomat, Director at American Rare Earths, and Co-Chair of the Critical Minerals Institute. As the United States races to secure a reliable supply of rare earth elements, Sanderson discusses why Wyoming’s Halleck Creek ...

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