A new short video found at the website for Minerals Make Life - a National Mining Association initiative - illuminates the close ties between the widespread resurgence of manufacturing in the United States and the need for stable access to mineral resources. As manufacturing experiences a resurgence in the United States, an expected 2 to 2.5 million jobs will be created by 2020. While an estimated $6.2 trillion dollars’ worth of mineral resources could be mined here in the United States to aid in this economic renewal, delays and inefficiencies in the federal permitting process for mining activities make it significantly more difficult for these job creation opportunities to come to fruition. Some mining operations can sit on hold for up to ten years or more while operators wait on the necessary permits.
As previously discussed in our April 3, 2014 post, the United States is forced to import many minerals for various industries, despite our abundant domestic supply. Based on this forecasting, it seems that a more sensible permitting scheme for mining is essential to bringing and maintaining job opportunities domestically.
