You might not have heard anything about it, but the men, women and tools needed to help re-build America’s ailing economy and pave the road for future mineral and energy independence were on display this month in Reno, Nevada. The Northwest Mining Association held its 115th Annual Meeting Nov. 30-Dec. 4 in Reno, drawing over 2,300 people and 233 exhibitors.

Despite the economic doom and gloom you read in the papers and are harangued with by cable news talking heads, Reno told a different story. Our convention is the second largest annual mining show in the country. It’s the place where the best and brightest minds and the latest in cutting edge technology are showcased.

The overriding theme at our convention was simple: America has the brains, brawn and mineral resources needed to ensure a vibrant economic future built upon a foundation of domestic minerals and energy.

Whether strolling through our massive exhibit hall marveling at the products, technology and services on display or participating in one of our expert-led short courses and technical sessions, it was abundantly clear that great minds are hard at work on how best to harness our abundant mineral and metal resources and put them to work for America in an environmentally and socially responsible manner.

And we need our people and our resources. Any talk of building a “New Economy” requires the mineral and metal resources, jobs and technologies on display this month in Reno. Whether it’s rebuilding America’s infrastructure, meeting the growing demand for electricity or expanding our renewable energy production, the U.S. mining industry is an independent catalyst to economic recovery and energy independence.

You want wind turbines? We need minerals and metals, and lots of them. More solar panels? Same story. More nuclear power? Means mining more U.S. uranium, unless we are comfortable with importing our uranium from Russia. New pipelines, transmission lines, roads, bridges and other key infrastructure projects will all need American minerals and metals.

Our nation is blessed with an almost unrivalled source of metals and minerals. However we are facing some of the stiffest political and regulatory challenges we’ve ever been up against.

Unfortunately, in our quest to build a new energy future and revitalize our economy, decisions are being made in Washington D.C., and state capitals that will strangle domestic mineral and metal production and make America more reliant on foreign minerals and metals. Have we so easily forgotten the Arab oil embargo of the early 1970’s?

Rather, we need to foster and promote legislation, regulation and polices that embrace the big ideas on display in Reno this month. We need to advocate that the responsible use of our mineral wealth will provide the building blocks for our future and sustain and create thousands of safe high-paying jobs.

We need to make sure the promise of Reno becomes a reality. Our future depends on it!

Laura Skaer
Executive Director, Northwest Mining Association

EPA Endangerment Finding Paves Way for Massive
New Emissions Regulation Scheme

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this month declared that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions endanger human health and welfare by contributing to and causing climate change. The finding was expected, given an earlier preliminary finding, and formally opens the door to future regulation of GHG emissions from automobiles, coal-based power plants and other stationary sources.

A 2007 Supreme Court ruling granted EPA authority to control GHG emissions under the Clean Air Act (CAA) pending a positive endangerment finding. EPA is not, however, finalizing any control regulations with this finding.

The endangerment finding begins a circuitous regulatory route that starts as early as March 2010 with regulation of auto emissions, activating a CAA permit program that would trigger requirements for other sources of GHG emissions.

The endangerment finding, released on the opening day of the UN Copenhagen climate change conference, cheered advocates frustrated by congressional inaction to legislate reductions.

Although the motor vehicle sector would be the first to face actual control regulations for GHG emissions, EPA is expected to promulgate GHG standards for stationary sources beginning early next year.

More information is available at: EPA Endangerment Finding.

Murkowski Seeks to Halt EPA Endangerment, Warns of
Impact on U.S. Economy

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) announced on Dec. 14 her intention to file a disapproval resolution to stop the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act.

Murkowski’s resolution comes in the wake of the agency’s recent endangerment finding, which could result in damaging new regulations that endanger America’s economy.

“I remain committed to reducing emissions through a policy that will protect our environment and strengthen our economy, but EPA’s backdoor climate regulations achieve neither of those goals,” Murkowski said in Dec. 14 Senate floor speech.

“EPA regulation must be taken off the table so that we can focus on more responsible approaches to dealing with global climate change.”

More information is available at: Murkowski announcement.

Lawmakers Fret over Bill that Would Dramatically Expand
EPA Water Regulatory Reach

A group of 28 Republican lawmakers from Western states this month told House and Senate leadership that they “strongly object” to any efforts to move a controversial bill that would amend the Clean Water Act (CWA) and grant the Environmental Protection Agency massive new regulatory powers.

Signing the letter were 11 senators and 17 members of the House of Representatives.

“We strongly object to any attempt to move this legislation as a stand alone bill or as an attachment to a bill, in the Senate or House of Representatives,” the lawmakers said in a Dec. 8 letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

“More specifically, we cannot imagine any bill so important that we could support it with the Clean Water Restoration Act attached.”

The bill (S. 787) would remove the term “navigable waters” from the CWA and replace it with “waters of the United States.”

“The concern we hear back home is that this legislation would grant the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers virtually unlimited regulatory control over all wet areas within a state,” the letter said.

“This bill attempts to trump state’s rights and pre-empts state and local governments from making local land and water use decisions,” the lawmakers wrote.

A copy of the Dec. 8 letter is available at: Letter to Congressional leaders.

Uranium Shortage Could Derail Nuclear Plans to Cut
Carbon Emissions

There is an awesome amount of energy tied up in an atom of uranium. Because of that, projections of the price of nuclear power tend to focus on the cost of building the plant rather than that of fuelling it. But proponents of nuclear energy – who argue, correctly, that such plants emit little carbon dioxide – would do well to remember that, like coal and oil, uranium is a finite resource.

Some 60 percent of the 66,500 tons of uranium needed to fuel the world’s existing nuclear power plants is dug fresh from the ground each year. The remaining 40 percent comes from so-called secondary sources, in the form of recycled fuel or redundant nuclear warheads.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, which is a United Nations body, and the Nuclear Energy Agency, which was formed by the rich countries that are members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, both reckon that, at present rates, these secondary sources will be exhausted within the next decade or so.

More information is available at: Uranium Shortage.

Vague Climate Deal Reached in Copenhagen

“The climate deal reached between the U.S., China and other great powers on Friday night is so vague, hastily hatched and non-binding President Obama isn’t even sure he’ll be required to sign it. ‘You know, it raises an interesting question as to whether technically there’s actually a signature… It’s not a legally binding agreement, I don’t know what the protocols are,’ said a bleary-eyed Obama, before hopping in Air Force One for the trip back to Washington. Even as he left, it wasn’t clear that the pact Obama described as ‘meaningful’ would even pass muster with the European Union – or attract enough votes with the 193-nation COP 15 conference to become an official declaration.”

The full story is available at: Politico.com.

$3 Billion Investment for Carbon Capture and Storage

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu on Dec. 4 announced $3 billion in new funding for projects designed to accelerate the development of advanced coal technologies with carbon capture and storage at commercial-scale.

Chu made the announcement on a conference call with West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin (D), U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller (D W.Va.) and American Electric Power President Mike Morris.

An investment of up to $979 million by the Department of Energy (DOE) will be leveraged by more than $2.2 billion in private capital cost share as part of the third round of the Department’s Clean Coal Power Initiative.

“By harnessing the power of science and technology, we can reduce carbon emissions and create new clean energy jobs,” said Chu. “This investment is part of our commitment to advancing carbon capture and storage technologies to the point that widespread, affordable deployment can begin in eight to ten years.”

More information is available at: DOE CSS Investment.

NMA Launches Third New 2009 Safety Awareness Program

“Drive Safe, Arrive Safe” is the newest safety program launched this year by the National Mining Association (NMA), the third voluntary safety initiative the industry’s national trade group has sponsored this year.

The program is the latest in a comprehensive industry campaign to sustain its record of year-over-year improvements in mine safety. The safe driving campaign targets the cause of nearly one-fourth of all mine fatalities since 2005.

“NMA is reaching out to the entire mining community in an effort to instill greater awareness of the importance of safe driving practices to reach our goal of zero injuries in our mines,” said NMA Chairman Gary Goldberg, president and chief executive officer of Rio Tinto Minerals. “Safe driving habits will put us on the road to safer mines.”

The initiative includes widely distributed training brochures, awareness posters that will be prominently displayed on mining property and hard hat stickers. The campaign and the materials – all based on an analysis of mining site accident reports – will be available to the mining community free of charge.

More information is available at: Drive Safe.

Black Thunder Mine Achieves Perfect Lost-Time Safety Record

The Thunder Basin Coal Company’s Black Thunder mine surpassed 571 days and 4 million employee-hours without a single lost-time injury on Nov. 20, 2009.

“The dedicated workforce at Black Thunder mine has shown that together we can achieve a perfect zero in safety incidents,” said Kenneth Cochran, president and general manager of Arch Coal’s Thunder Basin. “This record-setting safety achievement highlights one of the core values upheld throughout the Arch Coal family of companies.”

Black Thunder’s 1,600 employees produce roughly 12 percent of annual U.S. coal supply from the single largest coal-mining complex in the world. The Black Thunder mine is located in the Powder River Basin near Wright, Wyo.