,,ii #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #adfc ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,april #aj1 #bjbe,mr4 ,coons 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,young1 ,mr4 ,hickenlooper1 and ,mr4 ,cornyn7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations ,a ,,bill ,to allow the ,secretary of the ,interior to enter into memoranda of understanding for the purpose of scientific and technical cooperation in the mapping of critical minerals and rare earth elements1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,finding ,opportunities for ,resource ,exploration ,act or the ,finding ,,ore ,act4 #b4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,allied foreign country ,the term allied foreign country means a country with which the ,united ,states has entered into a mutual defense treaty or other mutual defense agreement4 7#b7 ,critical mineral ,the term critical mineral has the meaning given the term in section #gjjb7;a7 of the ,energy ,act of #bjbj 7#cj ,u4,s4,c4 #afjf7;a774 7#c7 ,institution of higher education ,the term institution of higher education has the meaning given the term in section #aja of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajja74 7#d7 ,partner foreign country ,the term partner foreign country means a country that is a source of a critical mineral or rare earth element4 7#e7 ,rare earth element ,the term rare earth element means cerium1 dysprosium1 erbium1 europium1 gadolinium1 holmium1 lanthanum1 lutetium1 neodymium1 praseodymium1 promethium1 samarium1 scandium1 terbium1 thulium1 ytterbium1 or yttrium4 7#f7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of the ,interior1 acting through the ,director of the ,united ,states ,geological ,survey4 #c4 ,memorandum of understanding with respect to the mapping of critical minerals and rare earth elements 7a7 ,memorandum of understanding ,the ,secretary may enter into a memorandum of understanding with #a or more heads of agencies of partner foreign countries with respect to scientific and technical cooperation in the mapping of critical minerals and rare earth elements4 7b7 ,objectives ,in negotiating a memorandum of understanding under subsection 7a71 the ,secretary shall seek to increase the security and resilience of international supply chains for critical minerals and rare earth elements by-- 7#a7 committing to assisting the partner foreign country through cooperative activities described in subsection 7c7 that help the partner foreign country map reserves of critical minerals and rare earth elements2 7#b7 ensuring that private companies headquartered in the ,united ,states or an allied foreign country are offered the right of first refusal in the further development of critical minerals and rare earth elements in the partner foreign country2 7#c7 facilitating private-sector investment in the exploration and development of critical minerals and rare earth elements1 including by leveraging preferential financing from entities such as the ,united ,states ,international ,development ,finance ,corporation and the ,export-,import ,bank of the ,united ,states that prioritizes projects committed to processing minerals in the ,united ,states or an allied foreign country2 and 7#d7 ensuring that mapping data created through the cooperative activities described in subsection 7c7 is protected against unauthorized access by1 or disclosure to1 governmental or private entities based in countries that are not-- 7,a7 a party to the memorandum of understanding2 or 7,b7 an allied foreign country4 7c7 ,cooperative activities ,the cooperative activities referred to in subsection 7b7 include-- 7#a7 acquisition1 compilation1 analysis1 and interpretation of geologic1 geophysical1 geochemical1 and spectroscopic remote sensing data2 7#b7 prospectivity mapping and mineral resource assessment2 7#c7 analysis of geoscience data1 including developing derivative map products that can help more effectively evaluate the mineral resources of the partner foreign country2 7#d7 scientific collaboration to enhance the understanding and management of the natural resources of the partner foreign country to contribute to the sustainable development of the mineral resources sector of that partner foreign country2 7#e7 training and capacity building in each area described in paragraphs 7#a7 through 7#d72 7#f7 facilitation of education and specialized training in geoscience and mineral resource management at institutions of higher education2 7#g7 training in relevant international standards for relevant officials of the government and private companies of the partner foreign country2 and 7#h7 cooperation among entities of the partner foreign country that are a party to the memorandum of understanding and entities in the ,united ,states1 including ,federal departments and agencies1 institutions of higher education1 research centers1 and private companies4 7d7 ,notification to ,congress ,the ,secretary shall notify ,congress not later than #cj days before the ,secretary intends to enter into a memorandum of understanding under subsection 7a74 7e7 ,collaboration with ,secretary of ,state ,the ,secretary shall collaborate with the ,secretary of ,state in-- 7#a7 prioritizing and selecting partner foreign countries with which to enter into a memorandum of understanding under subsection 7a72 7#b7 negotiating a memorandum of understanding under subsection 7a72 and 7#c7 implementing a memorandum of understanding entered into under subsection 7a74 7f7 ,consultation with private sector ,the ,secretary shall consult with relevant private sector actors1 as the ,secretary determines to be appropriate1 in-- 7#a7 prioritizing and selecting partner foreign countries with which to enter into a memorandum of understanding under subsection 7a72 and 7#b7 assessing how a memorandum of understanding can best facilitate private sector interest in pursuing the further development of critical minerals and rare earth elements in accordance with the objectives described in subsection 7b74