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Majority of US voters support permitting reform to encourage domestic mining

Published by , Assistant Editor
Global Mining Review,


According to a recent poll conducted by Morning Consult for the National Mining Association, as the US supply chain becomes increasingly reliant on imports for vital raw materials – minerals such as copper, silver, zinc and lithium – 57% of voters believe US regulations and laws should be reformed to encourage more domestic mining.

“Made in America should also be made from American resources,” said Hal Quinn, NMA president and CEO. “At a time when the US is looking to bolster our domestic manufacturing industry, leaving the stability of our supply chain subject to the whims of foreign sources is dangerously shortsighted. That’s why most Americans support regulatory and legal reform to encourage domestic mining.”

According to the NMA, many components of today’s advanced technologies such as smart phones and electric vehicles require minerals such as copper, silver, gold and zinc. Nearly every industry including energy, construction, transportation and equipment manufacturing requires steel — a material dependent on iron ore, nickel and molybdenum for its production. And copper’s flexibility, conformity, thermal and electric conductivity, and resistance to corrosion make it an ideal industrial metal.

According to the NMA, federal and state regulations as well as a lack of coordination between agencies, however, discourages domestic mining. The result is a permitting process that can take from seven to 10 years, which increases our reliance on imported minerals that are vital to America’s supply chain. According to the US Geological Survey, the US is now import-dependent for 50 key metals and minerals – 100% import dependent for 20 of those. Less than half of the minerals US manufacturers need are sourced domestically, despite the nation’s abundant mineral endowment.

The poll revealed that 57% support regulatory and legal reform to support domestic mining, 26% did not know or had no opinion, and just 18% opposed reform. The poll was conducted from 5-7 April, 2018, of 2201 adults nationwide carrying a margin of error of +/- 2%.

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/finance-business/19042018/majority-of-us-voters-support-permitting-reform-to-encourage-domestic-mining/

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