WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Mining Association (NMA) today issued the following statement from Rich Nolan, NMA president and CEO, on the news that Sens. Joe Manchin (I-W. Va.) and John Barrasso (R.- Wyo.) have advanced a bipartisan permitting package in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
Nolan said, “The status quo on mine permitting is no longer an option; the time to reform our permitting process is now. Our manufacturing sector’s ability to produce the consumer and energy goods America needs is currently tied to China’s willingness to continue to provide the materials that feed those supply chains. America is home to both abundant natural resources and the environmental, labor and safety laws to ensure they are produced responsibly. With our mineral and energy demands only growing, we need to unlock our domestic potential, and I applaud Senators Manchin and Barrasso for taking this important first step.”
A report released last week by S&P Global found that it takes an average of 29 years to bring a mine online in the United States – longer than any other country assessed except Zambia, which takes 34 years. That poor performance is despite the fact that the U.S. resource endowment is vast with the endowment of some key metals, such as copper, comparable to those of Canada and Australia combined. Uncertainty and litigation risk are factors that contribute to the U.S. underperforming – both issues that are addressed, in part, in the bipartisan permitting package.
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