In the news today…
Mining:
- Supply Chain Dive reports Biden took a two-part path on Thursday to addressing rising energy costs: releasing up to 1 million barrels a day for six months from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and using the DPA, a Cold War relic, to bolster domestic battery production.
- NH Journal carries an op-ed which argues the U.S. should “streamline the permitting process for mining/raw material operations” if it wants to accelerate the development of a domestic EV supply chain.
Minerals:
- Washington Examiner reports Sen. Joe Manchin said he’s wary of President Joe Biden’s strategy on electric vehicles, which administration officials have been pitching as an affordable alternative to drivers who are reckoning with high gasoline prices.
Environment:
- E&E News PM reports Ohio and Tennessee are attempting to keep alive a legal fight over a landmark Obama-era Clean Water Act rule after being repeatedly dismissed in court amid ongoing federal policy shifts and rulemakings.
- Inside EPA reports a split appellate panel is backing environmentalists’ claims that the Interior Department (DOI) violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) when it approved a massive coal mine expansion and determined its greenhouse gas effects would be insignificant, setting a precedent that environmentalists say will require more-robust GHG reviews.
Coal:
- Mining.com reports from Bloomberg at least 45% of U.S. coal power is set to disappear by the end of the decade, a figure that will likely rise as more utilities conclude their coal-fired plants no longer make financial sense to operate, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.
- Argus reports US thermal coal exports fell from year-earlier levels for the first time in 15 months in February as shipments to India continued to falter.
World News:
- Mining.com reports from Bloomberg the European Union is proposing to ban coal imports from Russia in a direct response to reports that Russian forces committed apparent war crimes in Ukraine, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday.
- Argus reports countries that are looking to divest from Russian energy exports are revitalizing demand for previously undesirable thermal fuels, creating a “great opportunity” for coal-carrying bulkers, Seanergy chief executive Stamatis Tsantanis said.