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United States Mining

Exxon Mobil Plans to Produce Lithium in Arkansas – by Clifford Krauss (New York Times – November 13, 2023)

https://www.nytimes.com/

The move is the oil giant’s first foray in the production of a metal vital for electric vehicle batteries.

Exxon Mobil said on Monday that it planned to set up a facility in Arkansas to produce lithium, a critical raw material for electric vehicles, which pose one of the biggest challenges to the company’s oil business.

Coming just a month after Exxon said it would spend $60 billion to buy Pioneer Natural Resources, the announcement signals that the large oil company intends to hedge its big bets on conventional fossil fuels with at least some investments in cleaner forms of energy that are needed to combat climate change.

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WHAT IF AMERICA’S MINERAL-INTENSIVE MILITARY RUNS OUT OF MINERALS? – by Macdonald Amoah, Gregory Wischer, Juliet Akamboe and Morgan Bazilian (Modern War Institute West Point – November 10, 2023)

https://mwi.westpoint.edu/

Macdonald Amoah is a researcher at the Payne Institute for Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines. Gregory Wischer is principal at Dei Gratia Minerals, a critical minerals consultancy. Juliet Akamboe is a critical minerals demand researcher at the Colorado School of Mines. Morgan Bazilian is director of the Payne Institute and Professor of Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines.

Minerals have defined key periods in technological development for much of warfare’s history. The Stone Age featured mineral-tipped spears and arrows; the Bronze Age included swords and shields of bronze, a metal alloy of copper and tin; and in the Iron Age, iron replaced bronze in many weapons, making them both lighter and cheaper.

Since then, minerals have remained formative in changing human history—and warfighting. The cheap, mass production of iron was central to the First Industrial Revolution, while steel, an alloy of iron and carbon, was vital to the Second Industrial Revolution. Both periods contributed to the industrialization of war.

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U.S., Canada and Ktunaxa Nation to discuss coal-mining pollution in Kootenai River watershed (Montana Free Press – November 9, 2023)

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At the first-of-its-kind meeting, representatives of U.S., Canadian and tribal governments will discuss water quality impacts stemming from an expansive coal-mining operation in British Columbia.

After years of delays and false starts, eight governments impacted by an expansive Canadian coal-mining operation are set to meet today on Indigenous territory in Cranbrook, British Columbia, to discuss the future of the governments’ shared waterways.

The meeting will include representatives from the federal governments of the United States and Canada and the Ktunaxa Nation Council, which advocates for the interests of six bands of Indigenous people spread across present-day British Columbia, Montana and Idaho. The council, which includes representation from the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, has for years asked for greater oversight of Teck Resources’ British Columbia-based coal-mining operation.

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Conservation groups sue feds in bid to protect endangered species from Appalachian coal mining – by Ryan Knappenberger (Courthouse News – November 8, 2023)

https://www.courthousenews.com/

The endangered Guyandotte River crayfish, one of three at-risk species centered in the lawsuit, has suffered a 93% habitat loss due to coal mining activity in the region, conservationists say, limiting the species to just two creeks in West Virginia.

WASHINGTON (CN) — Environmental groups filed a lawsuit Wednesday urging the federal government to enact protections for endangered fish and crawfish found in Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia as they groups say nearby coal mining operations are driving the species to potential extinction.

The suit, brought by the Center for Biological Diversity and Appalachian Voices in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, slammed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, saying the agency had ignored the significant impacts of coal mining sedimentation and approved hundreds of mining permits without the required protections.

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Hudbay Is in Talks to Draw Partner for Arizona Copper Project – by Jacob Lorinc (Bloomberg News – November 9, 2023)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Copper producer Hudbay Minerals Inc. is having informal talks with prospective partners to develop a deposit in Arizona as the mining industry pushes to bolster North America’s supply of key metals.

The Canadian company is looking to either sell a minority stake or form a joint venture to help finance its Copper World project in the second half of 2024, Chief Financial Officer Eugene Lei said in an interview Thursday.

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Investors are turning bullish on nuclear – by Paul Day (Reuters Event Nuclear – November 8, 2023)

https://www.reutersevents.com/nuclear/

After years of disinterest, investors are buying into the nuclear industry.

Markets soured on nuclear following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power disaster in March 2011, but the push toward net zero, rising global energy insecurity, and growing appetite for next generation reactor technology is restoking interest.Uranium spot prices, up end-Oct by more than 55% from end-2022, are rising sharply and serve as a barometer for investor interest in nuclear power.

Prices fell steadily following the Fukushima disaster in 2011 but have begun a gradual trun around from a low in 2016 and currently hover at the highest point since end-January 2008, according to data by Cameco, the world’s largest publicly traded uranium company.

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NEWS RELEASE: Biden-Harris administration provides $2 million to states to identify critical mineral potential in mine waste (United States Geological Survey – November 7, 2023)

https://www.usgs.gov/

The new agreements funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will support critical mineral mapping and the creation of a national mine waste inventory

RESTON, Va. — The U.S. Geological Survey has invested more than $2 million from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in cooperative agreements with 14 states to study the potential for critical mineral resources in mine waste. This funding will allow the USGS and these states to better map the locations of mine waste and measure the potential for critical minerals that might exist in that mine waste.

“These agreements are allowing us and the states to take a second look at places that were once known for their mineral production to see if there might yet be some new critical mineral potential, just waiting to be found,” said Darcy McPhee, program manager for the USGS Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI), which provided the funding for the agreements.

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The U.S. Can Counter China’s Control of Minerals for the Energy Transition – by By James Morton Turner(New York Times – November 6, 2023)

https://www.nytimes.com/

Dr. Turner is a professor of environmental studies at Wellesley College and the author, most recently, of “Charged: A History of Batteries and Lessons for a Clean Energy Future.”

China recently rattled the world’s electric vehicle supply chains by announcing new export controls on graphite, a key component of lithium-ion batteries. If China uses the export controls, which take effect on Dec. 1, to reduce exports of graphite or to favor Chinese-owned companies operating abroad, it could slow down efforts to scale up advanced battery manufacturing globally.

Welcome to the geopolitics of the clean energy transition. Unlike in the 20th century, when China was largely a bystander in petroleum politics, the country has achieved new geopolitical significance by scaling up investments in clean energy manufacturing and the critical minerals that work requires.

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Barrick CEO Bristow reaffirms vow to improve safety record amid rise in work fatalities – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – November 3, 2023)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Barrick Gold Corp. ABX-T chief executive officer Mark Bristow is vowing once again to improve the company’s poor safety record after the Canadian miner reported two more fatalities at its sites this year – bringing the total under his tenure at the company to 13.

Mr. Bristow said in an interview Thursday that an electrician was killed at its Loulo-Gounkoto mine in Mali after the worker opened up a live electrical box after walking in water to fix a pump. In Nevada, a contractor died after losing control of a vehicle driving down a steep road.

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Canada, U.S. to meet with Indigenous leaders in B.C. over pollution issues (Canadian Press/Business In Vancouver – November 1, 2023)

https://biv.com/

Indigenous groups in both countries have been clamouring for years for a bilateral investigation of selenium contamination from B.C. coal mines owned by Teck Resources

Canadian and U.S. officials are expected to meet next week with Indigenous leaders as they work on cleaning up toxic mining run-off that’s polluting waters on both sides of the border.

Ktunaxa Nation officials say the meeting will take place Nov. 9 on Indigenous territory in Cranbrook, B.C. Indigenous groups in both countries have been clamouring for years for a bilateral investigation of selenium contamination from B.C. coal mines owned by Teck Resources.

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US Steps Up Efforts to Access Africa’s Critical Minerals – by Paul Burkhardt (Bloomberg News – October 12, 2023)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — The US is stepping up efforts to boost ties with African nations rich in critical minerals to help secure supply, according to a government official.

Workshops recently held in the Zambian capital, Lusaka, and Kinshasa in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo brought in US experts with the ultimate goal of setting up local battery manufacturing operations, Kimberly Harrington, deputy assistant secretary of the Bureau of Energy Resources, said at a conference in Cape Town on Thursday.

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US gov’t mulls 50-year mining ban in New Mexico – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – September 19, 2023)

https://www.mining.com/

The US government is proposing to ban mining and oil drilling in northern New Mexico for up to 50 years, as part of the Biden administration’s ongoing efforts to protect Native American lands and promote responsible mining in public grounds.

According to the Department of the Interior (DOI), the proposal would ban new mining claims, as well as oil and gas development across more than 4,200 acres within the Placitas area in Sandoval County.

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Mandating EVs while discouraging mining is a recipe for disaster – by Joel Kotkin (National Post – September 12, 2023)

https://nationalpost.com/

The current policy is devastating our economy, enriching our enemies and making middle-class life less affordable

“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds,” wrote the American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson. This may prove no problem to the West’s climate-obsessed elites, who rail about the coming apocalypse, even while undermining the production of the very resources that would be essential if they are to have any chance to reach their cherished “net zero” utopia.

Although North America, and most particularly Canada, possesses many of the critical resources — lithium, copper, graphite, nickel, cobalt and rare earths — necessary to build solar panels and electric vehicle (EV) batteries, green lobbyists are fighting even modest plans for new mines.

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OPINION: Pennsylvania can help our country meet the growing demand for rare-earth minerals – by Mike Armanini (Penn Live Patriot News – September 2023)

https://www.pennlive.com/

Historically known as a hub of industrial innovation, Pennsylvania is now poised to enter a new era of economic prosperity through the mining and refinement of rare-earth minerals. As global demand for these critical elements skyrockets, the Commonwealth has a unique opportunity to leverage its rich geological endowment to not only boost its economy but also contribute significantly to technological advancements and our nation’s security.

Rare-earth minerals, a group of 17 elements, play a pivotal role in modern technology. They are crucial to manufacturing consumer electronics, renewable energy systems, and advanced defense technologies.

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Biden plan would overhaul 151-year-old mining law, make companies pay royalties for copper and gold – by Matthew Daly (Associated Press – September 12, 2023)

https://apnews.com/

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is recommending changes to a 151-year-old law that governs mining for copper, gold and other hardrock minerals on U.S.-owned lands, including making companies for the first time pay royalties on what they extract.

A plan led by the Interior Department also calls for the creation of a mine leasing system and coordination of permitting efforts among a range of federal agencies. This comes as The White House has been pushing to boost domestic mining for minerals needed for electric vehicles, solar panels and other clean energy.

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