When Secretary of Energy Chris Wright used emergency authority to extend the life of the J.H Campbell coal plant in Michigan at the end of May -- siting a dire threat to grid reliability in the MISO electricity market – the decision was met with a broadside of a criticism.
With data now available for plant operations through June, it's clear extending the life of the plant did exactly what was intended. The plant provided a gigawatt of power throughout the month. And during the June heatwave that initiated an emergency maximum generation event on the MISO grid, the plant's largest unit, ran at nearly full capacity.
Turning to the trade front, President Trump has followed through on threats to punish India for buying Russian oil, adding an extra 25% tariff on imports, on top of the 25% rate India already faces. The higher tariffs will go into effect on Aug. 27 if India continues to buy oil from Russia.
India called the move, "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable." How this effects the flow of commodities between the U.S. and India remains to be seen. Expect significant negotiations over the next 21 days before the additional tariffs take effect.
And as reminder of the profound importance of minerals to medicine, seven years of investigation by scientists at Harvard Medical School have revealed that the loss of the metal lithium plays a powerful role in Alzheimer's disease.
The researchers reported they were able to reverse the disease in mice and restore brain function with small amounts of the compound lithium orotate. A very promising development indeed.
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.
