Supporting America’s Infrastructure

From foundations to roofs, power plants to wind farms, roads to bridges—America’s infrastructure projects begin with mining.

From foundations to roofs, power plants to wind farms, roads and bridges to communications grids and data storage centers—America’s infrastructure projects begin with mining. Consider that nearly every industry including energy, construction, transportation, and equipment manufacturing requires steel—a material dependent on both metallurgical coal and iron ore for its production. And copper’s flexibility, conformity, thermal and electric conductivity, and resistance to corrosion make it an ideal industrial metal. These are just a few of the ways that mining is contributing to America’s infrastructure.

Member Feature Story

Investing in Zinc

South32 recently announced great news: it will be investing more than $2 billion  to develop the zinc-lead-silver deposit at its Southern Arizona project site. The Hermosa project, the first to be added to the U.S.’s FAST-41 permitting process, has the potential to be one of the world’s largest zinc... Read More

Building America's Infrastructure

Metallurgical Coal for Tomorrow’s Infrastructure

Metallurgical coal is a vital component of steel, which is heavily used in construction and infrastructure projects - from buildings to bridges to roads and charging stations. We need a reliable supply of met coal as we continue to modernize our infrastructure, and fortunately we have the resources available. Warrior... Read More

Nickel in Transportation Infrastructure

Nickel is a highly valuable resource, and it plays an important role in transportation infrastructure. Traditionally it has seen use in stainless steel applications but, today, innovations in electric vehicles are increasing our need for nickel. Fortunately, ample supplies are available here in the U.S. Talon... Read More

Met Coal for Infrastructure

Metallurgical coal, or met coal, is a fundamental component of steel, which is essential to our infrastructure. Ramaco Resources is an exclusive producer of met coal, operating in West Virginia, Virginia and Pennsylvania. The company holds approximately 250 million tons of high-quality metallurgical... Read More

Copper Powers Our Lives

When we think about infrastructure, there are many inputs that go into building the world as we know it today. One of those essential inputs is copper. This metal is used throughout the energy production process, from generation and transmission to distribution and consumption, but also comes onto our... Read More

Steel to Build By

Steel is the basis of much of our infrastructure, and steel is built on metallurgical coal. Around 770 kilograms of coal is used to make one ton of steel, and considering the push made this year for domestic steel, the U.S. will also need coal to meet infrastructure demands. The U.S. has ample met... Read More

Mining Industry Responds to Growing Lithium Demand

The electric vehicle revolution is rapidly increasing demand for lithium, and mining companies are responding. Piedmont Lithium, for example, recently announced plans for a lithium hydroxide plant in Etowah, Tennessee. When fully operational, the project is expected to produce 30,000 metric tons per... Read More

An Abundance of Metals

Infrastructure is complicated, requiring many different inputs to build the world around us. Palladium, rhodium and platinum are used in catalytic converters to reduce emissions from internal combustion vehicle engines, and palladium and gold are used in electronics such as laptops and mobile phones.... Read More

Copper in Infrastructure

Our modern way of life relies on electronics, and electronics rely on copper. This versatile, conductive, ductile metal is the basis for wiring that allows our homes and businesses to flourish. Copper is showing an increase in demand for its use in energy generation, transmission infrastructure, and... Read More

Steel Requires Coal

Infrastructure wouldn’t stand without steel. This metal alloy contributes to buildings, like the Empire State Building which is composed of 57,000 tons of steel; bridges, like the Golden Gate Bridge which required 83,000 tons of steel; and roads like the U.S. National Highway System which has used 6... Read More

Copper’s Versatile and Essential Role

Copper is essential to our modern way of life, particularly for its role in infrastructure. For energy generation, literal tonnes of copper are used in solar panels (5.0 tonnes), onshore wind farms (4.3 tonnes) and offshore wind farms (9.6 tonnes). Copper is used to power our grid through 5G networks,... Read More

Nickel for Electric Vehicles

As U.S. infrastructure turns towards an electric future, automobile manufacturers will need much more nickel to build electric vehicles (EVs). Talon Metals Corp., along with the United Steelworkers union, has developed a partnership to advance the Tamarack Nickel Project in Minnesota, a project which... Read More

Supplying the Steel Industry

Six billions tons of steel have been used in the U.S. National Highway System, and more will be needed as the U.S. focus on infrastructure projects increases. Steel production requires metallurgical coal, which – along with iron ore – is essential in producing the new steel America relies on every day.... Read More

Reliability to Support Our Lives

Grid reliability is a necessity in our modern world. Our electricity grid is vital infrastructure that ensures power for every industry and American household. A cornerstone of our electricity grid is coal, which provides baseload power that can backstop intermittent sources of electricity when the sun... Read More

Warrior Met Coal, Met Coal in Our Lives

Infrastructure projects would literally fall apart without steel. There’s 57,000 tons of steel in the Empire State Building and six billion tons of steel in the U.S. highway system. And 70 percent of the world’s steel requires coal, specifically metallurgical or met coal. Met coal includes the various... Read More

Twin Metals, Providing the Copper and Nickel We Need

Recently, Elon Musk of Tesla Inc. urged producers to mine more nickel, a critical component of electric cars. But more than nickel is needed to fully realize the potential for electric vehicles in America. Copper is an essential metal for not only the electric vehicle, but for the massive amount of infrastructure... Read More

Warrior Met Coal: Supporting the Steel Industry in Recovery

Steel is a vital part of infrastructure projects. It supports structures including buildings, roads and bridges, telecommunications networks, electrical towers, and other key parts of our infrastructure. However, steel production cannot happen without coal mining. Warrior Met Coal is a large scale,... Read More

Freeport-McMoRan: Providing Minerals for America’s Infrastructure

When America gets back to work after the COVID-19 crisis, infrastructure projects – and the products of mining that make them possible – will be key to our economic recovery. Copper is a versatile metal that is essential to construction: a critical metal for wire, plumbing and hardware. It has the... Read More

Supporting America's Infrastructure

At the core of America’s infrastructure is copper. It is a critical metal for wiring, building bridges, highways and ports, and, once these projects are completed, they are likely to attract investments in cars, trains, and other products that also use copper extensively. Given the importance of copper... Read More

Freeport-McMoRan: Providing the Copper to Charge Transport

One of the fastest growing sectors of infrastructure is the installation of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. As more and more EVs hit the roads, they need power and cities are building charging stations to accommodate. White Plains, NY, a city of about 60,000, currently has 25 charging stations,... Read More

Warrior Met Coal: Strengthening Global Infrastructure

The World Steel Association estimates that by 2050 steel use is projected to be 1.5 times higher than present levels in order to meet the needs of our growing world population. The coal industry will play an essential role in helping meet this growing demand for steel. Metallurgical coal, also known... Read More

New Graphic Shows Minerals are the Core of American Infrastructure

In a new infographic, the Minerals Education Coalition illustrates that every year 40,641 pounds of new minerals must be provided for every person in the United States to make the things we use daily, including our nation’s infrastructure. Based on 2017 production, 656 pounds of cement, 292 pounds... Read More

Copper Helps Flint Solve Its Water Crisis

A new video from the Copper Development Association (CDA) shows how Flint, Michigan, is bringing clean, safe water back to its residents with the help of copper. In a city that has battled contamination problems since 2014, the city is now on schedule to replace its lead pipes with new copper piping... Read More

Teck Resources Limited Makes Infrastructure Modernization a Reality

Nearly every industry including energy, construction, transportation and equipment manufacturing requires steel—a material dependent on both metallurgical coal and iron ore for its production. Steel is essential for supporting critical infrastructure projects and creating products that make our quality... Read More

Kyanite Mining Corporation: Helping to Rebuild America’s Foundation

Minerals like molybdenum, copper, iron and kyanite form the foundation of our nation’s roads, bridges, railroads, highways, buildings, construction equipment and many important alloys. Without an abundant and stable supply of minerals, plans to rebuild and reinforce our infrastructure will not be possible. Kyanite... Read More

LinkedIn Blog: America’s Infrastructure Begins with Mining

In his first ‘State of the Union’ address last month, President Trump declared rebuilding America’s crumbling infrastructure a major priority for this administration. A few weeks later, the president outlined his legislative principles to deliver the safe, reliable, and modern infrastructure that Americans... Read More

Rio Tinto: Reinforcing and Rebuilding American Infrastructure

Many copper deposits contain molybdenum, and Rio Tinto’s Kennecott Bingham Canyon Mine is no exception. At the Utah operation, a froth flotation process is used to separate molybdenum, copper, gold and silver minerals. The molybdenum concentrate is then filtered, dried and packaged to be shipped to... Read More

Arch Resources: Supplying Coal for Steel Infrastructure

The Trump administration this summer announced a $1 trillion plan to fix the nation’s infrastructure. There’s no doubt that a robust plan to rebuild America’s declining infrastructure should be a priority. Thankfully America enjoys a particularly rich endowment of raw materials that can support such... Read More

Freeport-McMoRan: Rebuilding America from the Ground Up

In 2017, The U.S. received a troubling D+ in the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Annual Infrastructure Report Card This rating indicates that much of America’s infrastructure is at risk of failure, putting lives and our economy at risk. To address this, the administration hopes to invest $1 trillion... Read More

American Minerals: The Key to Revitalizing U.S. Infrastructure

Minerals and metals are essential to rebuilding or expanding American roads, airports, railroads and pipelines. They make up the foundations for the world’s tallest buildings, communications grids and even national defense systems. Basically, minerals and metals keep our society operational 24 hours... Read More

Nyrstar: Protecting our Infrastructure from Corrosion

With infrastructure development a national priority, the demand for metals and minerals will soar. Galvanized steel is used extensively in various infrastructure projects around the world, including bridges, electricity and telecom towers and building structures. Zinc coatings provide a continuous,... Read More

Coeur Mining: Meeting the Needs of America’s Energy Infrastructure

The U.S. is home to a diverse energy mix that includes coal, natural gas, oil, nuclear, wind and solar. Always a leader in innovation, the U.S. is one of the top solar users in the world – with 18,317 megawatts of solar capacity. In fact, the oldest solar power plant in the world is located right... Read More

Freeport-McMoRan’s Copper Wire Keeps America Moving

Copper, a highly desired mineral, is the third-most U.S. consumed mineral and is one of the most important minerals in today’s industrial world. It is incredibly versatile and its properties – high flexibility, conformity, thermal & electrical conductivity and resistance to corrosion – make it critical... Read More