In the news today…
Mining:
- The Durango Herald reports the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld an Obama-era ban on new uranium mining around Grand Canyon National Park, but the Trump administration could lift it.
Energy Policy:
- Washington Post reports on an important story happening in Washington state, where voters in eight days will consider a ballot measure that would make them the first state in the country to tax carbon emissions causing climate change.
Campaign 2018:
- E&E Climatewire reports coal interests and climate hawks are closely watching the gubernatorial contest between Bruce Rauner, the Republican governor, and Democratic challenger J.B. Pritzker, an heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune.
- CNBC reports the top U.S. coal miners union has put a larger share of its campaign donations behind Democrats ahead of the Nov. 6 elections than in 2016, as dimming hopes for a coal industry revival led by President Trump reinforce fears about the safety of worker pensions.
World News:
- E&E Energywire reports China’s Tianqi Lithium Corp. cleared a major hurdle in its bid to buy a $4.1 billion stake in SQM, the world’s second-largest producer of the mineral used in electric-vehicle batteries.
In other news:
- Mining.com reports silver is now being used to destroy a brain-eating amoeba called Naegleria fowleri. In a paper published in ACS Chemical Neuroscience, researchers from Malaysia’s Sunway University explain how they developed silver nanoparticles coated with anti-seizure drugs that can kill the deadly Naegleria fowleri.
- Casper Star Tribune reports retired coal miners from the Antelope and Cordero Rojo mines in Campbell County will lose their medical benefits as Gillette-based Cloud Peak Energy continues to find areas to narrow liabilities in a strained coal market.