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1) Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto from Nevada, and co-sponsor Senator Krysten Sinema of Arizona, drafted a bill that would amend a 1993 budget reconciliation act that primarily clarifies definitions of activities and rights in the 1872 Mining Law. This is in response to the federal appeals court adopting a stricter interpretation of the 150-year-old law. Environmentalists praised the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals more restrictive ruling, which blocked the Rosemont copper mine in southern Arizona last year because the company had not proven it had mineral rights on the adjacent land. With this ruling, it could affect the green transition as it will be harder for companies to mine the critical minerals needed. “This misguided decision would force all mining activities, even the storage of waste, to happen on mineral-rich land, which could impede critical mineral production all across the country,” Cortez Masto said in a statement emailed to AP.
2) As mergers and acquisitions happen in the mining industry, with the biggest so far being BHP acquiring Oz Minerals, and the frenzy of Glencore and Teck Resources, it shows the renewal interest as an affirmation of anticipated demand growth for copper and the future constraints that could hinder it. Acquistions are showing that the outlook for the industry is great, however with record prices of the metal and facing the pressure to return profits to the shareholders, miners are looking to buy existing operations instead of opening up new ones. This is understandable as the process to open a greenfield project can take anywhere from 5-20+ years, often leading to cost overruns adding to the company's risk exposure. This is only creating benefit in the short term, with return to the shareholders and expanding production for the company itself. The problem comes in that there is no new copper production added to the market itself. With higher demand expected, no new supply is generated, still projecting a shortfall in the supply. Ragnar Udd, the president of BHP Minerals Americas, says the world needs nine or 10 of the giant Escondida copper mines in the next decade to meet the needs of the energy transition. With that in mind, no new merger or acquisition will achieve a new massive copper mine every year for the next 10 years.