Hal Quinn: Cut Through the Red Tape on Minerals Mining

In response to President Obama’s recent push to accelerate the permitting process for U.S. infrastructure projects, National Mining Association President and CEO Hal Quinn asked, “What about mining?” This week, Quinn penned a letter-to-the-editor in the Washington Times that highlights how crucial minerals like iron ore, nickel and copper are in making these infrastructure projects a reality. Without an ample and stable supply of these key raw materials, the large-scale projects that President Obama encourages would not come to pass.

“Ironically, just as the President voices concern over long delays in the approvals process for major infrastructure projects, the permitting process for new mineral mines can span a decade, two-and-a-half times as long as it took to build the Golden Gate Bridge. These delays are due to redundancies and slow decision-making timeframes, which send mining investment overseas and leave the United States dangerously dependent on foreign sources for metals and minerals essential to our infrastructure.”

Despite the importance of minerals to our economic well-being, global competitiveness and national security, the U.S. lacks a coherent minerals and metals mining policy. A modernized mining permit process would allow for the extraction of the minerals crucial to our transportation and infrastructure systems, create jobs the president has been anxious to produce and allow U.S. mining to perform to its fullest potential.

Read the full article here.