By Manuel C. Coppola, publisher | Nogales International
(Editor’s note: Posting opinion pieces is strictly for purposes of discussion.)
Frequently there is a Grand Canyon between government rhetoric and reality and that applies particularly to the mining industry. The feds boast about economic output and trade surplus. Yet in 2012, the United States was ranked at the bottom of the list of 25 countries for timely permitting processes for mines.
The Rosemont Copper mine is a prime example and Wildcat’s Hermosa project seems to be going down the same sluggish conveyor belt, even though along with silver, one of the main extracts would be manganese. The government has classified a number of metals that are considered strategic to national defense and economically important. One hundred percent of the manganese used in the United States is imported from Southeast Asia.
