The Pentagon should make lithium a high priority worthy of investment and financing, three Republican senators say, touting the Smackover Formation in the southern U.S. and asking how the department assesses which mineral projects qualify for federal intervention. In a May 12 letter to David Lorch, director of the Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital, Arkansas Sens. Tom Cotton and John Boozman and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz say they are “seeking clarity about the Department’s prioritization and support of domestic...