Executive Director's Message
Remember when summer meant three months off from school, with the freedom to relax and play? Those carefree days always seemed to go by so fast. Well, this summer is going by very quickly, too, but now it’s because we’re so busy! AEMA staff and the Program Committee are hard at work developing another “can’t miss” Annual Meeting this December. And as we learn to live and work in a continuing COVID environment, it has been great to hit the road again this year - attending meetings and conventions, visiting members and touring mines, hosting an AEMA reception in Spokane, and of course, advocating for this great industry.
We made a trip to Washington, D.C. this month for another round of in-person meetings with lawmakers and staff on Capitol Hill, federal agencies, and allied organizations on multiple topics affecting the mining industry.
We continue to proactively engage the Interagency Working Group on Mining Regulations, Laws, and Permitting (IWG). You will recall the IWG was formed by the Biden administration to assess the adequacy of existing laws, regulations, and permitting processes, determine whether changes to those are necessary, and if so, make recommendations to the appropriate federal agencies or Congress on how to implement those changes.
We have conducted multiple meetings with IWG member agencies, including the Department of the Interior, the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Agriculture, the White House National Economic Council and Council on Environmental Quality, and the Department of Defense.
Through these meetings, it is clear there is an internal conflict within the administration regarding mining. Some clearly understand that we need to incentivize and increase domestic mineral production in order to secure our supply chains. Others seem determined to upend our current regulatory and statutory structure.
The IWG is set to issue their recommendations in November of this year, although that timeline will likely get pushed back. We will have to see what those recommendations are, but there can be no doubt AEMA and its members are providing high quality information for the group to consider.
In fact, this process has been a shining example of what makes me so proud to work for this industry, and AEMA in particular. The level of volunteerism among our members to share their expertise and provide input to the IWG, both in writing and verbally, is truly inspiring. Our written comments will be submitted by the August 30 deadline, but our work to engage all stakeholders to advocate for a strong domestic mining industry will continue unabated.
Mark Compton
Executive Director
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Registrations for our 128th Annual Meeting - Secure Supply Chains Start with Us, December 4-9, 2022, at the Nugget Casino Resort in Sparks, Nevada are coming in. Our ‘easy to follow’ registration buttons (Exhibitors have their own buttons) can be found here. Use this same link to download the most recent brochure and/or a Sponsorship form.
Be sure to check out the updated brochure. We have added a technical session on Friday morning, “Guidelines For Reporting Exploration Results, Mineral Resources, And Reserves: An Overview,” chaired by Abani Samal, GeoGlobal LLC. In this session, the presentations will discuss the technical, legal, and community engagement aspects of the resource and reserve reporting guidelines. A complete description is on page 24 of the brochure. We are still accepting abstracts for our technical session program. For information about our Call for Papers, go to Pages 13 & 14 of the brochure. Be sure to read this before you submit your abstract. Abstracts must include:
- Complete name of the author, position, company/organization, business address, phone number and email address.
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Name of the session in which you wish to participate. The sessions accepting abstracts are listed under the applicable Interest Track.
- Abstracts must be in MS Word and sent as an attachment to an email. No PDF files.
- Short Bio
The Exhibit Hall is filling up. If you are interested in a booth or core shack, contact Mike Heywood at mheywood@miningamerica.org for details. Lists of current exhibitors by Company Name, by Product/Service and by Booth # begins on Page 33 of the brochure.
Note to our exhibitors - the link to the Exhibitor Services Manual will be emailed early August. This email will go to the exhibitor contact.
If you are interested in signing up for the Student Poster Contest or the Professional Poster Session, forms are on Pages 27 & 28. Completing either of these forms will not register you for the Annual Meeting. You will also need to complete the registration form mentioned above. – Remember – one registration per form.
Just a reminder, when you are registering for the luncheons – The exhibit hall walk around lunch is not on the form this year. The a la carte lunch station will be set up in the exhibit hall and you will pay at the station.
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Now Accepting Applications for 2023
The AEMA Society was chartered in 2021 to identify talented individuals in the mining industry, match them with mentors in their selected discipline, and provide cross-disciplinary curriculum to all program participants. Over the course of one calendar year, Society Mentees (1) receive a course of instruction from the full corps of Society Mentors representing a range of established disciplines, and (2) interact with their designated Mentors on a periodic basis for more personalized learning and discourse. Society Mentees who complete the course of instruction to the satisfaction of their Mentor will attest to conducting their professional careers in accordance with the standards and ethics embodied in the Society Oath, which will be administered at the Annual AEMA Conference. The Society was featured earlier this month in a blog post by MRC which can be found here.
We are very excited to announce that based off of feedback from the inaugural class of 14 mentees in 2022, and success thus far, we are going to continue the program in 2023. If you or someone within your company would be a good fit, click here for more information. Applications are due September 23, 2022. Questions about the Society can be emailed to Kenna O'Neill.
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Deal Struck on Reconciliation
Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) this week announced a deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to move forward with a reconciliation bill that will include about $370 billion for energy and climate. The bill still needs to go through the Senate parliamentarian process to determine whether the provisions comply with budget reconciliation rules. You can read Sen. Manchin’s statement announcing the deal on the newly named Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 here and the legislative text and summaries here.
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Rosemont Decision - Request for Rehearing
Rosemont Copper Company this week filed a petition for rehearing with the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Ninth Circuit) for the split decision affirming the Arizona District Court’s flawed 2019 ruling vacating the U.S. Forest Service’s record of decision for the Rosemont Copper Mine’s plan of operations.
The Ninth Circuit decision, like the district court decision, ignores the plain meaning of the Mining Law and regulations, as well as 150 years of practice, interpretation and judicial precedent, and AEMA plans to file an amicus brief supporting the request for rehearing. Unfortunately, we also learned this week that the Department of Justice declined to file. We will keep you apprised as we learn more.
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Grand Canyon Protection Act
Just last week, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee held a markup hearing on a number of public lands bills, including S. 387, the Grand Canyon Protection Act (GCPA). As you recall, there is already a “protective buffer,” prohibiting mining and other development activities well beyond the boundaries of Grand Canyon National Park. The Act would make permanent a withdrawal that has been in place since 2012 – which removed 1 million acres from mineral entry beyond the protective buffer. Some of the United States’ best uranium deposits are located within the 1-million-acre withdrawal. At the markup, ENR came to a stalemate on the issue – a 10-10 tie, meaning the Grand Canyon Protection Act will not advance to the Senate floor without a special vote from the full Senate. Such a move would be time consuming in the evenly-divided Senate, with days on the legislative calendar dwindling. If such a procedure succeeded, it would still need 60 votes to pass the Senate as a standalone measure. The tie vote in committee complicates the path forward for S. 387, even as a potential rider amendment to “must-pass” legislation.
Earlier this month, the House of Representatives approved its version of the National Defense Authorization (NDAA), a “must-pass” defense policy bill, which included the Grand Canyon Protection Act as an amendment. As Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) led the effort to include the House version of the GCPA in the NDAA, which he has done in the past as well. The last time Chairman Grijalva was successful, the GCPA provision was stripped out in the Senate, and AEMA will work with our allies to do this once more.
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Boundary Waters Protection Bill Receives Votes
In a hearing on July 14, the House Natural Resources Committee approved H.R. 2794, Rep. Betty McCollum’s (D-MN) “Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention Act.” The McCollum bill would withdraw from mineral entry the 234,000 acres of the Superior National Forest that sit within the boundaries of the Rainy River watershed. Rep. McCollum’s stated goal is to “protect” the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness from the “threat” of mining, but Section 3(d) of the bill provides exceptions for gravel, granite, iron ore, and taconite, making it clear that her target is copper-nickel mining.
Rep. Pete Stauber’s (R-MN) district would be the one directly affected by the withdrawal, and he vigorously opposed H.R. 2794 during the hearing. Unfortunately, despite the opposition, the bill was approved by the full committee on a party-line vote, 24-16. In our DC meetings with staff for both Minnesota senators, they had questions for us about H.R. 2794. We gathered that both offices have yet to take a position, and may not do so until it reaches the Senate. You can find more information on H.R. 2794 here.
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GOP Releases "Let America Build" Policy
On July 20, House Republicans, led by an “Energy, Climate & Conservation Task Force,” convened a roundtable to discuss barriers to American innovation and renewal. At the roundtable, participants discussed NEPA reform extensively, and rolled out the “Let America Build” policy, which is based on six policy areas:
- Unlock American Resources
- American Innovation
- Let America Build
- Beat China and Russia
- Conservation with a Purpose
- Build Resilient Communities
The initiative is focused on reducing regulatory barriers and cutting red tape, allowing communities to unlock their potential through agriculture, resource extraction, infrastructure development, or other means, as well as making them more resilient to floods, fires and other events. You can find more information on Let America Build here.
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Hearing Request on Good Sam
On July 14, 13 senators (eight Democrats, five Republicans) signed a letter to Chairman Tom Carper (D-DE) and Ranking Member Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV) of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, requesting a legislative hearing for S. 3571, the Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act. The letter noted that the recently passed Bipartisan Infrastructure Law contains billions in funding to jumpstart Abandoned Mine Land (AML) cleanups, “yet liability issues will prevent public-private partnerships from taking advantage of this new program. This Act begins to remove these hurdles to maximize the impact of the new abandoned hardrock mine remediation program, both on the ground and in communities.” Senators Heinrich and Risch spearheaded the letter, which you can read here. AEMA continues to work with our partners to advance S. 3571 in this Congress, and we’ll keep you updated on its progress.
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ESA Regulatory Revisions Under Attack
Last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published a final rule rescinding the 2020 regulations for excluding critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This action is a continuation of a plan by the Biden administration to rescind/revise several regulatory revisions to the ESA that were finalized in the previous administration. The FWS and the National Marine Fisheries Service last month published another final rule that rescinds the 2020 regulatory definition of “habitat” under the ESA.
Also last week, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (NDCA) issued an order remanding and vacating three Endangered Species Act (ESA) regulations (2019 rules) that were finalized in the previous administration.
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Compensatory Mitigation Rule Forthcoming
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) this week published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) on Compensatory Mitigation Mechanisms. The ANPR is a result of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, which required the FWS to issue regulations of general applicability establishing objectives, measurable performance standards, and criteria for use for species conservation banking programs, consistent with the Endangered Species Act. The publication of the ANPR initiates a 60-day comment period ending on September 26.
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Engage with AEMA on Social Media
Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn to access our latest graphics, news articles and engage with the rest of the mining industry. If you are interested in coordinating social media efforts with AEMA, reach out to Kenna O'Neill.
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Teck and PolyMet Announce Joint Venture
PolyMet Mining Corp. and Teck Resources Limited announced an agreement to form a 50-50 joint venture that will place their respective NorthMet and Mesaba resources containing high-demand copper, nickel, cobalt and platinum group metals under single management. The joint venture will be named NewRange Copper Nickel LLC.
NewRange Copper Nickel will be one business entity with two mining projects under development: NorthMet and Mesaba. While they are geographically close, they are two distinct projects: one of which has already gone through the regulatory and permitting process and is in litigation, and the other which has not yet begun its permitting activities. You can read the press releases announcing the joint venture here and here.
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MiningMinnesota Announces New Executive Director
The MiningMinnesota Board of Directors announced Julie Lucas as its new executive director. Lucas will begin her new role on August 1, replacing outgoing executive director Frank Ongaro, who served MiningMinnesota for 15 years. AEMA is very excited to continue working with MiningMinnesota and looks forward to partnering with Julie in her new role. Read more here. |
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Perpetua Resources Announces Start of Cleanup at Historic Mine Site
Earlier this month Perpetua Resources hosted a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the beginning of early cleanup activities and water quality improvements to benefit the historic Stibnite mining district. The ceremony marked the start of a multi-year, multi-million-dollar investment designed to improve environmental conditions at the historic site. The first four-year phase of the project includes removing 325,000 tons of legacy waste and tailings away from the river and rerouting streams to keep clean water clean. Learn more here.
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Welcome New Corporate Members!
Kiewit
Nexus Environmental Consultants, Inc.
Spectro Analytical Instruments
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Remember to Update Your Profile!
Have you changed jobs, email address or have a new phone number?
Make sure to update your information in your Member Profile. This will update our records as well as the online Membership Database that is available under Member Resources.
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