AI, data centers, processors. The big data moment is built on a foundation provided by extraordinary physical infrastructure. Few realize how large, or the materials required to make it happen. There are tens of thousands to potentially millions of specialized semiconductor chips in new data centers. To make just one of these chips requires a dizzying variety of minerals. Silicon, Gallium, Germanium, Palladium, Tungsten, Cobalt, Gold and copper are just some of minerals needed for a single chip. And of course it's not just about chips. Data centers themselves require vast amounts of metal for their construction, particularly for their power networks, circuit boards and cooling systems. A study of a $500 million Microsoft data center in Chicago found it used nearly 2,200 tons of copper. And that data center is now dwarfed by a new class of facilities. The bottom line is this: As the U.S. confronts the AI industrial arms race, getting our minerals and mining policy right, is simply nonnegotiable. That's your mining minute for this morning. Tune in for more from NMA TV.