RT @Mineweb US House Resources Committee approves rare earths/critical #minerals bills http://t.co/5BJB4cP9qF
8 hours ago
Minerals mining boosts jobs in the Midwest
In the U.S. Midwest, unemployment rates have steadily declined as companies respond to an increased demand for minerals.
An article from Bloomberg Businessweek highlights how in Wisconsin, the state Assembly recently sent a Senate bill aimed at making its mining permitting process more efficient, allowing for companies like Gogebic Taconite LLC to create more than 700 iron-mining jobs.
Declining use of mineral resources in U.S. worries experts
As written in a recent E&E News article, America’s use of mineral resources such as aluminum, copper, lead and others is declining, causing increased concern over China’s export restraints on rare earth materials.
“If you need a particular item at the end of the supply chain and you don’t have secure supplies…then you have vulnerabilities,” said W. David Menzie, chief of the U.S. Geological Survey’s global minerals analysis section, at a recent U.S. - China Economic and Security Review Commission hearing.
Currently, China is responsible for 95 percent of world production of rare earths and manufactures more than 80 percent of minerals that are used in everyday items from hybrid car batteries to smartphones.
Commentary: Alaska must capitalize on vast untapped mineral resources
Rick Morrison, former president of the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, discusses the benefits of minerals development to Alaska’s economy, and how a proposed 12.5 percent gross royalty tax on hardrock mining could increase America’s dependence on foreign minerals and stand in the way of economic growth.
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