Push to shorten U.S. mine permit review process gains steam

Ioneer

01/09/2022 20:48

By Ernest Scheyder and Valerie Volcovici
    Sept 1 (Reuters) - U.S. mining companies, automakers and a
bipartisan group of congressional members are recommending that
the federal government cut the time needed to permit a new mine
in order to boost domestic production of electric vehicle
minerals.
    The requests, submitted this week to a committee https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-mining-ahome/us-green-metals-push-needs-a-revamp-of-gold-rush-mining-law-andy-home-idUSKBN2KU1HG
 that will propose changes to the General Mining Law of 1872,
comes amid rising pressure https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/miners-face-supply-chain-overhaul-meet-us-ev-credit-deadline-2022-08-11
 on the EV industry to procure lithium, copper and other
minerals from domestic or ally sources.
    The Interagency Working Group on Mining Reform has been
studying ways to change the law, which governs hardrock mining https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-utah-mining/a-modern-land-run-trump-move-opens-utah-to-mining-claims-under-1872-law-idUSKBN1FK1MA
 on U.S. government land, since February. Public comments were
due this week. Any changes would need to be approved by the full
U.S. Congress and President Joe Biden.    
    "Today's lengthy, costly, and inefficient permitting process
makes it difficult for American businesses to invest in the
extraction and processing of critical minerals in the United
States," Chris Smith, Ford Motor Co's  F.N  chief government
affairs officer, wrote to the committee.
    Ford, which has lithium supply deals with Nevada's ioneer https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/ford-buy-lithium-ioneer-american-ev-battery-plant-2022-07-21
 Ltd  INR.AX  and Utah's Compass Minerals https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/ford-announces-series-deals-accelerate-ev-push-2022-07-21
 International Inc  CMP.N , asked for faster mine permitting,
greater transparency in the review process and a boost to
federal funding of geological mapping.
    EV maker Rivian Automotive Inc  RIVN.O  said it supports
mine permitting reform "done in a more efficient and coordinated
way."  
    State and federal approval for a mine can take more than a
decade, compared to an average of a few years in Canada and
Australia, which have large mining sectors.
    Conservationists said the U.S. mining law is decades overdue
for reform and should instead be changed to require more
recycling as well as focusing better on ways to mitigate
mining's effect on host communities, avoiding some of the
negative effects of fossil fuel production.
    "Mining companies are frankly abusing the opportunity here
to say that mining is the only way forward to get the minerals
we need," said Blaine Miller-McFeeley of Earthjustice.
    Ford's requests were echoed by the National Mining
Association (NMA), the trade group for U.S. miners, who also
asked that a net royalty for minerals extracted on federal land
be set, rather than a royalty on gross income. There are no
existing royalties for companies that mine on federal land, much
to the chagrin of conservationists.    
    The NMA is also asking for so-called Good Samaritan
legislation that would indemnify a company from legal liability
if it rehabilitates an old mine site. Perpetua Resources Corp
 PPTA.O , for example, is trying to redevelop Idaho's Stibnite
Gold project https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-mining-insight-idCAKCN2AT39Z,
 which was polluted by World War Two-era mining.
    Freeport-McMoRan Inc  FCX.N , the largest U.S. copper
producer, recommended that the red metal be added to a list https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/united-states-adds-nickel-zinc-critical-minerals-list-andy-home-2021-11-15
 of minerals considered critical for the nation's defense and
economy. 
    Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto and Arizona Senator
Mark Kelly signed a bipartisan letter to the committee asking
for a more-streamlined mine permitting process. Proposed mines
in Nevada https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/us-judge-rules-lithium-americas-may-excavate-nevada-mine-site-2021-07-24
 from Lithium Americas Corp  LAC.TO  and Arizona https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-mining-resolution-insight-idTRNIKBN2C612L
 from Rio Tinto Ltd  RIO.AX  have been under development for
more than a decade.

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 (Reporting by Ernest Scheyder and Valerie Volcovici; Additional
reporting by David Shepardson
Editing by Nick Zieminski)
 ((ernest.scheyder@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: @ErnestScheyder;
+1-713-210-8512; Reuters Messaging:
ernest.scheyder.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))