A global minerals race that’s pitting the U.S. against China is also fueling tense debate in a highly competitive congressional campaign that could determine who controls the Senate next year.
New Hampshire Republican John E. Sununu is running to return to the Senate and is accusing Democratic opponent Rep. Chris Pappas of empowering China by voting against legislation that lifted mining limits near a Minnesota wilderness area.
But in what’s emerging as a political tug-of-war, Pappas counters that Sununu has financial ties to a global mining company that relies on China to process copper ore dug up in Azerbaijan.
Sununu spokesperson Mike Schrimpf framed the Republican position in basic terms. “America needs more domestic mineral production. Instead, Chris Pappas voted to shut down mining investments and critical processing capacity, hurting the United States,” Schrimpf said in a statement.
Pappas voted against a resolution from Rep. Pete Stauber (R-Minn.), chair of the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, to reverse Biden-era mining limits near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Supporters wanted to make way for a proposed copper and nickel mining project.
Jared Golden of Maine was the only House Democrat to support the measure, which President Donald Trump signed in to law in April. Other Democrats cited environmental concerns for wanting to prevent mining near a region of more than 1,000 lakes.
The Pappas campaign is going on the offensive. “While Congressman Pappas is fighting to boost domestic production of critical minerals and reduce our reliance on China, John Sununu is sitting on up to $5 million worth of investments in a foreign mining company that is selling critical minerals to China,” said campaign spokesperson Gates MacPherson.
Sununu and Pappas are competing for the seat currently held by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D), who is retiring after three terms. Sununu is favored to win the Sept. 8 Republican primary against his main rival, former Sen. Scott Brown, and has been leading by a wide margin in polling. President Donald Trump endorsed Sununu as an “America First Patriot.”
It’s a comeback bid for Sununu, who held the seat from 2003 until Shaheen defeated him in 2008. Pappas, the leading Democratic contender, has the edge in the general election, with forecasters like Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball rating the race as “Lean Democratic.”
The contest could mean the difference between Democrats taking control of the Senate — where they currently have a 47 to 53 minority — and Republicans keeping the majority.
The GOP likes its chances of a victory. A March poll from Emerson College had Sununu just 2 percentage points behind Pappas, though a University of New Hampshire poll had Pappas 7 points ahead.
Sununu is facing a delicate balancing act given his connections to Anglo Asian Mining, a London-listed company whose assets and operations are primarily in Azerbaijan, historically focused on gold but increasingly focused on copper, according to the firm’s most recent annual report.
Sununu — part of the storied Sununu political family — reported a personal stake in the New Hampshire-based investment company Sununu Holdings LLC in a financial disclosure report filed on May 11.
That holding company is the second-largest shareholder — with an 8 percent stake — of Anglo Asian Mining. The financial disclosure also lists Sununu’s personal holding of stock in Anglo Asian Mining as worth up to $5 million.
Sununu’s campaign downplayed the former senator’s involvement. “He has no operational role in the business whatsoever,” said Schrimpf.
Resisting and relying on China
Lawmakers from Washington to Rhode Island are jockeying to portray themselves as tough on China, which controls the mining and processing of a large array of minerals the U.S. needs.
Shaheen earlier this year pitched the bipartisan S. 3659, the “Securing Essential and Critical U.S. Resources and Elements (SECURE) Minerals Act,” which would create a multibillion-dollar critical mineral stockpile.
Pappas is co-sponsoring a companion, H.R. 7126, sponsored by Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.). The Democrats’ campaign is also touting support for the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act and Chips and Science Act, both of which had provisions to address mineral supply chains.
But as the Sununu family’s fortunes show, it’s been difficult for the U.S. and other nations to reduce their reliance on China for minerals essential in defense, energy and other technologies.
Anglo Asian Mining produces gold, copper and silver in Azerbaijan. Sununu’s father, former New Hampshire Gov. John H. Sununu, and his brother, Michael Sununu, are nonexecutive directors at the mining firm. The latter is the founder and manager of Sununu Holdings.
Anglo Asian last year inked an agreement for global commodity trader Trafigura to take copper ore from its operations in Azerbaijan and transport it to international markets for processing — including China.
Anglo Asian also recently ramped up production at an open-pit copper-molybdenum mine and processing plant in southwestern Azerbaijan. Some ore from the mine, which will operate through 2030, is heading to China.
A spokesperson for Anglo Asian said the company “regularly holds open bids for the supply of its copper concentrate” and that Trafigura was selected during that process and took “ownership of the copper concentrate at our facilities and determines how and where to process the material.” Trafigura declined to comment.
Ian Lange, an expert in mineral supply chains at the Colorado School of Mines, said it’s common for intermediaries to take ore concentrates from a mining operation and sell that material to the highest bidder in the international markets.
It’s also common for that material to head to China, he said. “Most refining is in China, so there is not really anywhere else to refine it,” said Lange.
