Minerals essential to technologies that make our daily lives and our economy work

Following the recent House passage of Rep. Mark Amodei’s (R-Nev,) “National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act,” H.R. 4402, the congressman penned an op-ed to the Reno Gazette-Journal underlining the importance of bipartisan support for a revised mining permitting process.

“The objective of this simple, bipartisan bill is not Republican or Democrat politics,” said Rep Amodei, “but common American sense.”

The congressman pointed to the need for an efficient permitting structure, noting that “decade-long permitting delays are standing in the way of high-paying jobs and revenue for local communities.” This is especially true in his home state of Nevada, which Rep. Amodei noted “is rich in strategic and critical minerals” and yet “has the highest unemployment rate in the nation.”

Amodei argued that, “despite our vast mineral wealth, America is extremely dependent on foreign countries like China for the life blood of American manufacturing.” He compared the American mining permitting structure to that of countries like Australia and Canada who are able to approve projects in as little as two years, allowing them to attract nearly double the  minerals exploration dollars attracted by the United States.

Rep. Amodei concluded that a more efficient permitting structure—as proposed in his bill—would nurture jobs and much-needed investments here in the United States.

Read more here.