This week, Alaska lawmakers are hoping to strike down a Biden-era land use plan that restricted mining and other development activities in the state. As part of a broader recent push by Western lawmakers to overturn former President Biden's resource management plans, Representative Nick Begich of Alaska introduced a Congressional Review Act resolution requiring only a simple majority to pass. Begich commented that "Regional stakeholders were steamrolled by the Biden administration's backroom schemes to control Alaskan resource access and use."
American rare earth production stays in the headlines this morning, as Energy Fuels has begun producing heavy rare earth metals at its White Mesa Mill in Southern Utah. The company is now producing dysprosium, used in high-performance magnets and nuclear reactors, and plans to ramp up to a commercial scale if the pilot run continues to be successful.
And out of Georgia, utility regulators approved plans to keep two coal plants online to serve anticipated power demand from the growth of data centers. The state has extended the life of the plants through 2038 to meet an expected flood of data centers in the fast-growing Atlanta metropolitan area. Georgia Power said it anticipates 8,500 MW of load growth over the next 6 years, and it appears coal will continue to help fill that demand.
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.
