Senator Lisa Murkowski Receives Benchmark Lifetime Achievement Award at Giga USA 2025

6th June 2025

Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, the world’s leading provider of critical mineral price data and market intelligence for the energy transition, is today revealing that U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is this year’s recipient of the Benchmark Lifetime Achievement Award at Giga USA 2025 in Washington D.C.

The award recognises individuals whose leadership has fundamentally transformed the global critical minerals and energy transition supply chain. Senator Murkowski joins an esteemed group of past recipients including Prof. Sir Stanley Whittingham, Nobel Prize winner and pioneer of the lithium-ion battery, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and JB Straubel, co-founder of Tesla and CEO of Redwood Materials.

Simon Moores, Executive Chairman of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, commented:

“Senator Lisa Murkowski has been the guiding light for the critical minerals industry we see today. Critical minerals like lithium, graphite, and rare earths are now more geopolitically important than oil.

“Without Senator Murkowski, critical minerals would not be in the mainstream policy conversation or global discourse. I’ve had the privilege of working closely with her for nearly a decade: our industry cannot thank her enough.”

Senator Lisa Murkowski, said:

“I was proud to accept Benchmark’s Lifetime Achievement Award this week at the GIGA USA conference. Benchmark sets the standard for excellence in mineral intelligence, so to be recognized by them is a true honor.

“I thank Simon and his team for being great partners across many years as we have sought to rebuild U.S. supply chains. Together, we’ve made substantial progress in raising awareness and taken the first key steps to restore U.S. mineral security.”

Representing the resource-rich state of Alaska, Senator Murkowski was among the first in Congress to identify critical minerals as a national strategic priority long before it became a headline issue.

She has championed bipartisan efforts to strengthen domestic mining, processing, and innovation.

Notably, the Senator was the driving force behind the Energy Act of 2020, which redefined and modernised the federal government’s approach to critical minerals. Her leadership on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has advanced legislation on permitting reform, mineral R&D, and resilient supply chain development.

Image by Ecliptic Media