Aug. 24, 2020, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in support of the development of Pebble Mine in Alaska following an Aug. 20 letter by the Army Corps of Engineers requesting mitigation by Pebble Mine Partnership:
“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is strongly urged to take every reasonable step to ensure that Pebble Mine becomes a reality. This Administration has put a premium on ending our dependency on China for rare earth metals, and now in the wake of the announcement that rhenium, a key component to aircraft engines, was discovered at the Pebble Mine, this makes the development of Pebble Mine a national security must. Our nation can no longer stick our head in the ground to the reality that China’s worldwide rare earth dominance is a severe threat to national security.
“The sad truth is environmentalists have never found a mine they like, and it is largely due to their efforts that the U.S. is now 100 percent dependent on rare earth imports and 82 percent dependent for rhenium according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The Trump administration has rightly made reversing this situation a high priority. With Pebble Mine’s progress in addressing the environmental mitigations being required by the Army Corps of Engineers, the mine meets and exceeds the legal standard for development and should be accelerated due to the national security concerns. This is both good national security and resource development policy, and meets the President’s priorities.”
Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 or at media@limitgov.org.
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