In the news today…
Coal:
- Inside Climate News and Courier Journal report environmentalists and representatives from coal mining communities across the nation are pressing the Biden Administration, after more than 500 days in office, to finally appoint someone to head the Interior Department’s Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement.
- Argus reports environmental group Sierra Club is looking to halt modifications to American Consolidated Natural Resources’ (ACNR) Lila Canyon coal mine leases in Utah.
- E&E Energywire reports after a landmark Supreme Court ruling recognized nearly half of Oklahoma as Indian Country, the state is calling on a federal judge to block newly imposed Interior Department oversight of mining regulation in that part of the state.
- Politico Pro reports climate advocates and developing nations are hopeful a new model in which rich countries direct billions of dollars in investments to emerging economies to help them ditch coal and natural gas will be a game changer in cutting greenhouse gases — if they can overcome skepticism that the wealthy countries will live up to their promises.
Minerals:
- E&E Daily reports House progressives have hit a snag in their bid to update the nation’s 150-year-old mining law.
- Mining.com reports while recycling can relieve some pressure from the supply deficit of battery raw materials, it will not be able to meet demand, says Wood Mackenzie, a Verisk business.
- E&E Daily reports a bipartisan House bill would empower the U.S. Geological Survey to declare uranium and other minerals related to energy generation as critical to national and economic security.
Mining:
- The Wall Street Journal reports Caterpillar Inc. is decamping to Texas from its longtime Illinois base, joining other major U.S. companies weighing hiring and costs as they work to move past the continuing Covid-19 pandemic.
- Washington Post reports from Bloomberg the headquarters moves by Caterpillar Inc. and Boeing Co. are a sign of how detached the corporate mailbox is becoming from industrial companies’ core manufacturing operations.
- E&E News PM reports the Biden administration is preparing to dole out mine cleanup money to states and tribes under the recent bipartisan infrastructure law, but the president hasn’t appointed anyone to formally oversee the program.