The headlines say, "They came for the coal and stayed for the rare earths." And in Wyoming, tomorrow, Ramaco Resources will break ground on the nation's first rare earth mine in decades—and it's also a coal mine. Back in 2011, the company bought an existing coal mine that was first opened in the late 1800s but had been out of service for decades. Then they discovered large deposits of rare earth and critical minerals needed for national defense gear and semiconductors. The event takes place tomorrow at 1 p.m.
Rare earths miner MP Materials has a new massive shareholder: the Department of Defense. In a deal set to close today, the company and the DOD will enter into a public-private partnership that includes a multibillion-dollar package of investments and long-term commitments from the government, all to reduce foreign dependency by accelerating American supply-chain independence.
And today, North Dakota lawmakers plan to introduce a Congressional Review Act resolution that would strike down a resource management plan finalized by the Biden administration in January. The plan restricts certain energy development and elevates conservation above other land uses. Lawmakers say it blocks fossil fuel leasing on more than 4 million acres for coal and more than 200,000 acres for oil and gas. The CRA allows Congress to use a majority to strike down regulations that have been recently finalized. Last month, the Government Accountability Office determined the lawmakers could use the CRA to kill the resource management plan.
That's your Mining Minute for this morning, highlighting some of the mining-related matters that are on our minds here in Washington and beyond. Follow us on the National Mining Association's channels, as well as on Minerals Make Life and Count on Coal, for more on the latest news and policies impacting mining.
