Pub. 5 2015 Issue 1

7 MINING FOCUS Mark Compton, President PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE I f you have read past issues of the Mining Focus, you understand the critical role mining plays in our everyday lives. You make the con- nection between mined materials and the products that make modern life possible. You get the fact that mining sat- isfies our energy needs and helps feed the world. And you know that mining is a foundational industry that raises the quality of life and standard of living for all. Now, I’d like you to think about what it takes to produce those mined materials. The U.S. minerals industry operates in a highly competitive global environment. The search for newmineral deposits occurs around the globe. Major mining companies operate international- ly and weigh many factors in determining whether the potential return on mineral investment is worth the geologic, eco- nomic and political risk. It is not uncommon for mining com- panies to spend millions of dollars just to identify 100 drillable exploration targets. Sometimes more than $100 million can be expended before a decision is made to build a mine. Sure, producing mines create new wealth, provide high-paying jobs, and make the communities in which they op- erate stronger. But did you know it takes 7 to 10 years, on average, to permit a mining project in the United States? That is one of the longest permitting timelines in the world. Unfortunately, our federal mine permitting process is plagued by uncertainties, duplication and delays. The permitting delays are not due to environmental regulations being stron- ger in the United States than in other countries because most countries have environmental regulations equal, at a minimum, to the standards established by the World Bank Group. Rather, it is abuse of the NEPA process, unneces- sary bureaucratic red tape and the fact that virtually every mining project is litigated. The United States can and should be more self-reliant for the minerals we need. Despite reserves of 78 important mined minerals, the U.S. currently at- tracts only eight percent of worldwide exploration dollars. As a result, our na - tion is becoming more dependent upon foreign sources to meet our metal and minerals requirements, even for minerals with adequate domestic sources. Today, less than half of the mineral needs of U.S. manufacturers are met from domes- tically produced resources. We must streamline the regulatory burden and prioritize funding for permit- ting functions of federal regulatory agencies so that mineral development projects are reviewed and permitted in a timely manner, without sacrificing impor - tant environmental protections. Greater permit efficiency does not mean less environmental oversight. Fortunately, with help from a call to action from U.S. manufacturers and defense industries, the inefficient fed - eral permitting process has garnered the attention of Congress. Rep. Mark Amodei and Sen. Lisa Murkowski have introduced legislation in the House and Senate, respectively, to enable the U.S. to more efficiently develop its own mineral supply chain. The Utah Mining Association strongly supports those ef- forts, and I hope you will, too. It is more important than ever for the United States to responsibly utilize our own mineral and energy resources. In fact, our economic and energy security depends on it. X Major mining companies operate internationally and weigh many factors in determining whether the potential return on mineral investment is worth the geologic, economic and political risk.