The US government is very open to new mining

In the United States, regulators are working to approve several new domestic metal mines for electric vehicle batteries. Above all, the US government is trying to control the import of strategic minerals as much as possible. This was stated by US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm during the Serwick Energy Conference in Houston.

Granholm stressed that the greater the electric field in traffic, the greater the need to produce large quantities of metals locally. At the same time, the Minister stressed that the new mines should not cause any harm to the environment.

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Gronholm promised to work on regulating mineral mining permits. “It will not always be possible for a new permit to be issued,” Cronhome said.

The U.S. Department of Energy currently has about $ 2 billion Credit applications were received For the extraction of strategic minerals locally. Applications have been submitted by companies such as Lithium Americas, Ioneer and Piedmont Lithium.

The ministry also contacts young mining companies in advance to discuss possible loans. “The purpose is to make it clear that the growth of these assets in the United States has not been hampered by a lack of capital,” said Zigger Shaw, director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s debt planning office.

The Office of Credit Programs is currently evaluating a number of applications for lithium mining projects that have met with opposition. However, Shaw stressed that the mines, which have not been fully assessed by regulatory authorities, will not be funded under any circumstances.

Carde Blanche no

“We feel that the United States will launch some new mining projects,” said Michael Reagan, head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in response to the announcements.

“But that process cannot be regulated in the way it has often been in the past, where environmental laws have been violated and there are often ethnic and backward communities. Unequally Victims. “

The US government wants to emphasize that its approach to approving all possible mining projects does not mean that it is a carte blanche. Just last month, Antofagasta’s planned dual-metal copper mine in Minnesota was rejected on the grounds that it could disrupt the local water supply.

Mining representatives point out that the rulings show that the US government is exploiting resources Let’s look through a more sophisticated lens And realizes that these functions play an important role in the transition to static energy.