Constraints on U.S. mining affect manufacturers across the U.S.

Pennsylvania-based McLanahan Corp. has been manufacturing mineral processing equipment for more than 150 years.

But when regulation stiffened on the U.S. mining industry in the 1990s, a decline in the domestic market for mining equipment saw McLanahan’s U.S. customer base drop from 90 percent of his business to just 30 percent—where it stands today.

To mitigate this blow to his business brought by domestic constraints on mining, the manufacturer looked to miners overseas to find a market for his products.

“I knew that the future of our company depended on a robust export effort,” said owner Michael McLanahan, who noted that mineral-rich Australia is now a big customer.

A resurgence in U.S. minerals mining would spur domestic demand for mining equipment and the creation of manufacturing jobs to help meet miners’ needs.

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