Mine, Baby, Mine

By Vice Chairman Pete Stauber (MN-08) 

As China’s communist regime continues to halt the export of critical minerals necessary for our way of life, it has become abundantly clear that the United States can no longer tolerate their tight grip over these key supply chains.

Fortunately, the United States is blessed with an abundance of critical minerals that could end our reliance on foreign adversaries like the communist country of China once and for all. And the district I am proud to represent – Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District – is ready to lead the charge.

Throughout Northern Minnesota’s legendary Iron Range lies the largest undeveloped copper-nickel mineral deposit in the world, known as the Duluth Complex, which contains 95 percent of U.S. nickel reserves, 88 percent of U.S. cobalt reserves, 75 percent of U.S. platinum-group reserves, and one-third of U.S. copper reserves.

Even though Minnesota’s union miners are ready to safely develop these resources under the best environmental and labor standards in the world, the Biden administration made the disastrous decision to cancel long-held mineral leases and declare a 20-year mining moratorium that essentially locked up this large deposit of critical minerals.

And this didn’t just happen in Minnesota. From Alaska to Arizona, the Biden Administration killed virtually every domestic mining project that had come before them, further cementing our reliance on adversarial nations like communist China.

While the previous administration did everything in their power to prevent the responsible development of these much-needed resources, President Trump – the most pro-mining president in our nation’s history – is back in the White House. Unlike his predecessor, President Trump has actually considered the consequences of China denying us the critical minerals needed for American fighter jets, cellphones, lifesaving medical devices, electric vehicles, along with so many other products Americans need and use daily.

That’s why President Trump signed an Executive Order to increase American critical mineral production. In addition to prioritizing permitting and regulatory reviews for important critical mineral projects across the country, this Executive Order also directs the Secretary of the Interior to identify the federal lands with known mineral deposits and prioritize mineral production as the primary use of those lands.

As the Representative of a Congressional District with a tremendous amount of mineral wealth, I am excited that this Executive Order will put Minnesota’s miners at the forefront of these discussions.

It is long past time to declare critical mineral independence from China – and we can begin by unleashing the full potential of America’s resources, starting with Northern Minnesota’s Duluth Complex. By signing this Executive Order, President Trump is signaling that Americans will hold their own economic and national security futures in the palm of their hands once more.

He is signaling that it’s time to mine, baby, mine.