Local 49 Business Manager Jason George will testify in a Congressional committee hearing Thursday about the importance of mining critical minerals in the U.S. The hearing will be livestreamed here.
George will highlight the opportunities domestic mining offers Minnesota and the nation, as well as the ethical problems of relying on minerals extracted in other countries by child and forced labor. The topic of mining has special relevance to Minnesota in light of the recent decision by the Biden administration to ban new mines on more than 225,000 acres of mineral-rich land in northern Minnesota.
The hearing, titled, “Dependence on Foreign Adversaries: America’s Critical Minerals Crisis,” will take place in the House Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, and is scheduled for 8 a.m. Central Time on Thursday, Feb. 9, in the Longworth House Office Building in Washington, D.C.
“Today, we are at the precipice of a generational opportunity that could launch another 100 years of prosperity through mining,” George said in written testimony submitted before the hearing. “Our nation, and the world, are in desperate need of critical minerals such as nickel, cobalt, and copper. These minerals are necessary to build the batteries, wind turbines, solar panels, and other products the world needs in order to transition to clean energy. … The only question before us is whether or not we will be allowed to mine them.”
