Op-ed: The politics of hard-rock mining

America needs a new political discourse on hard-rock mining. The time is here to take steps to increase production in Colorado and throughout the American West.

Several recent assessments have concluded that meeting America’s growing need for minerals will be impossible without rapid growth in mining. But a high percentage of minerals critical to U.S. manufacturing and the defense industry are already imported.

In 1995, the U.S. was dependent on imports for 100 percent of eight minerals. Today, it’s 18 key mineral resources — 14 of which have been deemed “critical” by the Defense and Interior Departments.

Read the full op-ed here.