There are many reasons why we should be harvesting our own raw materials that already exist in this country, instead of importing them, whenever feasible or possible. When there are reasons that prevent us from harvesting those natural resources within our own country, then and only then should we look to our trading partners to supply us with such raw materials and resources. Where we are able to extract such raw materials within our borders and transport them short distances to processing facilities, manufacturing factories, refineries, power plants, and shipping or rail ports for export quickly and profitably. In our country we have seen the loss of most of our mining in the last 40 years. Some of it was due to the 1972 federal Clean Water Act, which was intended to prevent pollution from things like open-pit mining.
Many other mines, drilling rigs, and plants were closed due to cost. This was often due to the world market price of minerals or natural resources. Much of the mining was shut down due to regulations, labor costs, unions, OSHA rules, etc. Some examples of cost problems in mining have been overwhelming. In reviewing the recent closure of the gold mine in Butte, MT, we found that the mine was closed due to increased energy costs to crush the rock and extract the gold. There, energy costs went from $280,000 per month to 1.6 million per month. I’m sure there were other issues, but imagine getting that electric bill and trying to manage your expenses. Unpredictable energy costs are necessary for mining and other heavy industries, price spikes plus excessive regulations are a deadly nail.
Now, in many countries, people have protested the mines, gold and silver are easy to protest because they are associated with greed, since those minerals are also considered legal tender. A great mine to visit is one of the first gold mines in the country, The Reed Gold Mine in Charlotte. There were over 300 gold mines in North Carolina in the 1820s. This, of course, long before the CA 49’ers. The Reed mine was active until 1912. A total of 13 gold mines have closed in the last two years in response to falling gold prices or depletion of ore in Canada. It is no longer feasible to collect gold in the required conditions in most of North America unless it can be collected along with other precious metals and the remaining material can be screened for iron ore, copper or other metals. There are several places on Earth where multiple metals appear in close proximity. Mining often, like many industrial endeavors, can cause air pollution. When mined, the unused excess piles up and often causes it to leach into the ground when it rains, those other minerals released are more concentrated than much of the normal downstream water.
This is because the minerals have been buried for centuries under layers from earlier periods. At the old Berkeley Pit, a closed copper mine not far from the Sunlight Goldmine in Montana, the rainwater that mixed with the minerals left at the bottom of the Pit was quite toxic and contained arsenic, which is harmful in large amounts. quantities for humans. and animals Although arsenic is a poison, it is part of the natural minerals found in nature and is common in that area. Small traces aren’t too bad, but once they get too high, it’s cause for alarm.
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Transportation costs are also important in mining. Most of the mines that are still in business today are very close to major rail lines, even with all the regulations and rules that are out there, some mining still exists in the United States; Borax in Dagget, CA. The Borax mine was relocated from the Harmony Borax Works mine in Death Valley, the second hottest place on Earth with temperatures up to 134 degrees. Mojave. This is an illustration of why the transportation factor is critical in the efficiency of mining to keep down the costs of the factories, which use the raw material or natural resources.
If you look at surface mines in North America, those with direct rail service to the site can compete if economies of scale and market prices hold steady. There are many other factors to consider as well, for example, if your other countries don’t have the same rules for environmental controls, they can often sell those raw materials to other countries who in turn can sell their finished products, such as special alloys, steel , etc. at prices below what their companies can produce. Which would appear to be dumped; selling their products for less than it costs them to produce them. Many countries support such industries with huge tax incentives or by subsidizing those industries and/or companies. There are many reasons for this, sometimes it’s simply to ensure that these companies are in the business of selling products to countries’ government agencies for infrastructure projects. Other times it is to appease the workforce and provide jobs. Sometimes it is in retaliation for a perceived or actual trade war by another trading partner country, which is propping up one of its other industries. The dynamics of World Trade in; industry, peace, quality of life of the populations, flow of money, raw materials and natural resources; they are quite extensive, as you may have guessed.
If we look at surface coal mines; Gillette, WY; you can see a perfect example of how mining works when all is well. Hundreds upon hundreds of full train loads leave weekly for coal-fired power plants across the country. The economies of scale in such mines are incredible, fun to watch and very serious, every second is counted, now it is pure science in efficiency. It’s amazing how far we’ve come in the last few centuries. The world’s deepest coal mine is over 5,000 feet underground in the UK. Many in the United States are over 1200 feet deep, most of them are closed and few remain now. There’s a mine in Alabama that’s the deepest vertical shaft coal mine in North America, operating 2,140 feet below the surface. It is difficult for coal mines in Washington state, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Alabama to compete with the incredible economies of scale of the Gillette WY surface mine. Underground coal mines can be quite dangerous. There are gases underground and coal dust and if a fire breaks out all the oxygen is stolen. Recently, the rescue of coal miners in Pennsylvania drew worldwide attention as rescuers and alert rescuers worked non-stop to stay alive until all the men got out.
Mining is a dangerous business and safety is essential and comes at a high cost in productivity. Above ground machinery and robotics have made many mining efforts in the United States profitable and much safer. Also at issue, as we have discussed, are environmental issues. Things in the mining industry have changed significantly in the United States in the last 25 years, the only question is; did they change too fast? The reason we won WWII was because of our industrial production, we had the raw materials and the will and we were able to do it all here, are we sure we want to lose that ability in the future? After all, it’s still a cruel world, the human race surely hasn’t finished killing our own kind yet, there will be more wars. The key issue in mining is competition between third world countries that destroy the environment and our current environmental regulations here. Today in the United States, we have new innovations to protect the environment without slowing down the process. These new methods are expensive in the original capitalization of a project, but generally, once started, they pay for themselves over a significant period of time. Many universities are taking out environmental engineers who specialize in mining. .
By doing this, the job of mining right is achievable, but environmental laws aren’t the only regulations mining operations must deal with, there are also OSHA laws and a myriad of other rules.
In this country we have Salt Mines, Uranium Mines, Zinc, Lead, Molybdenum, Iron Ore, Copper, Silver, Gold, Aluminum, etc. Some of what we should be mining for are old computers, junk and junked cars, and the aluminum in old planes parked in the desert.
America can compete, if we let go of the attitude and delays caused by frivolous lawsuits, bad laws, and bogus regulations that supposedly help people when in reality they serve no free man. If you read Ayn Rand’s books, you may get an idea of this. Different places in the world have all the same minerals that we have here. Overall we need to change our attitude on mining issues, there are some brilliant entrepreneurs, state of the art equipment, smart industry consultants who can and will do the job without polluting, without harming the environment and still turn a profit. considerable. Who wins? We do it, because world prices for raw materials and resources dictate the cost and efficiency of having it here at home before we start doing something with these resources and materials is good for America. We should allow these brilliant problem solvers in the name of profit to help us figure out how to get it right, we are currently over regulating and not listening to these new technologies and the thinking of those in the know.
