Slow Process of Approving Mining Projects May Affect America’s Strategic Interests
The United States has been spending billions yearly for imported metals and minerals, despite the country’s abundance of various minerals in unexplored places such as Northeastern Minnesota. Many believe that what the country lacks is an efficient process that permits access to said minerals and metals. Presently, it takes roughly a decade to bring a new mine in the country into production, with many blaming Congress for the unreasonably long wait period. For years now, a senate bill that would modernize the whole licensing process has been buried in the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Because of this, in 2020,…