Pennsylvania Stakeholders Participate in Critical Minerals Meeting
Submitted by Maura Donley on Tue, 03/22/2022 - 11:26am
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – March 21, 2022 (HARRISBURG, PA) - - Stakeholders met via Zoom, hosted by the Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association, to learn about and discuss the role of the critical minerals industry as it develops in the United States and specifically in Pennsylvania.
The summit brought together national industry experts, state lawmakers and staff, and private sector stakeholders to consider the national dialogue regarding the critical mineral supply chain and how this sector presents a strategic opportunity that is unique to the commonwealth. Highlighted were recent federal initiatives, waste reclamation-to-mineral sourcing, and the consideration of industry best practices to attract project investment.
“Access to critical minerals is essential for our economy, supply chains, national security, and true energy independence,” said David N. Taylor, President & CEO of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association. “Pennsylvania can be a part of the solution to our foreign dependence problem if state government joins us as a partner in this process.”
“If Americans want their smartphones and electric vehicles to be made from materials sourced with the world’s strictest environmental standards and worker safety protections, we must increase domestic production of critical minerals and rare earth elements,” said Wayne Palmer, Executive Vice President, Industrial Minerals Association - North America. “The good news is that both political parties are sounding the alarm on the need to reduce our dependency on foreign sources like China and Russia. But rather than impose new regulatory burdens and taxes as some are proposing, policymakers should be facilitating new domestic sourcing, such as improving the timeliness and predictability of federal and state permitting processes.”