Category: From The Editor

Mining is Noble and Vital
Those who were unable to attend the keynote session at the 2018 Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) annual conference missed a rare treat: the chance to hear a great politician talk about the benefits of mining. The event took place in Minneapolis this year and U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan (D-MN), who represents Minnesota’s eighth district, kicked off the panel discussion. That district includes Hibbing and the Iron Range, Duluth and the Boundary Waters.
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Transparency Finally Works for Modern Miners
When the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission began to enforce the supply-chain transparency policies that were introduced by Sarbanes-Oxley in 2002, some in the mining sector were bitter. They thought, rightfully so, that the publicly held side of the minerals extraction business had been forced unfairly to give up access to a share of the world’s natural resources. They could no longer compete with state-sponsored actors who did not have to comply with the same set of rules. Publicly held mining companies were essentially barred from doing business in less than desirable areas. This created a vacuum that allowed businesses in developing countries that were paying substandard wages with little environmental oversight to purchase raw materials from dictators and despots with similar standards. Now, it seems the rules are finally imposing their intended effect and the world is starting to wake up.
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