WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Mining Association (NMA) issued the following statement on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decision to prohibit mining at the proposed Pebble Mine and future proposals in the area, blocking any development actions across more than 300 square miles of Alaska land.
“Given skyrocketing minerals demands and the fragility of our global supply chains, domestic mining has never been more important. But today’s announcement from EPA is in stark contrast to national and global realities.
“The Biden-Harris administration’s electrification and energy priorities – all of which rely on access to considerable minerals and metals, including those the Pebble project would develop – cannot possibly be realized responsibly if U.S. government authorities continue on this adversarial path with domestic mining projects. With our technological and energy future on the line, these minerals and metals will come from somewhere. The question for government authorities and environmental groups is this: will we source them here at home, creating jobs through projects that will be held to the world’s highest environmental, labor and safety standards, or will they be sourced from geopolitical rivals and countries that rely on child labor and unsafe work conditions? Allowing the preemptive veto of any development project before the review process is completed would suggest the answer is the latter. We note as well that the comprehensive environmental impact statement completed by the Corps of Engineers indicated that the mine would have no population level impact on the Bristol Bay fishery.
“This end-run of the proper permitting process creates significant regulatory uncertainty for the mining industry during a crisis point for minerals demand.”
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