Joe Biden’s campaign has privately told U.S. miners it would support boosting domestic production of metals used to make electric vehicles, solar panels and other products crucial to his climate plan, according to three sources familiar with the matter, in a boon for the mining industry.
The Obama administration enacted rigorous environmental regulations that slowed U.S. mining sector growth during its time in office. Biden, who served as Obama’s vice president and is well-regarded in conservation circles, has been expected to continue in that vein.
The U.S. Democratic presidential candidate also supports bipartisan efforts to foster a domestic supply chain for lithium, copper, rare earths, nickel and other strategic materials that the United States imports from China and other countries, the sources said.
President Donald Trump, Biden’s Republican opponent in the Nov. 3 election, has issued executive orders to encourage U.S. mining.
In a sign that miners are betting on a friendly reception from Biden, executives at Glencore Plc, which controls PolyMet Mining Corp, view its Minnesota copper mine project as a long-term investment and have no plans to scale back if Biden wins, a source familiar with the company’s thinking told Reuters.
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