America's Secret Strength

Open a newspaper or turn on television these days and you’re going to read and hear a lot about America’s energy future. More coal or less coal? Drill baby drill or more hybrids? And on and on it goes.

What you don’t hear about are the basics. The copper needed for the pipes in your home, the gold that makes your cell phone work, the molybdenum needed to construct everything from cars to smoke detectors and the gypsum for the drywall in your homes. All of these products produced right here in Colorado.

American mineral and metal mining supports 900,000 direct and indirect jobs. In Colorado, more than 26,000 people have jobs because of metal and mineral mining; jobs that on average pay 33 percent more than the combined average for all industrial jobs. Across the country, industries that depend upon metals and minerals to produce their products, employ nearly 17 million people, with more than $900 billion in earnings and contribute $1.8 trillion in annual gross domestic product.

Bottom line: Our quality of life and economic well-being depend on minerals and metals. However, increasingly we face a future where are livelihoods and economic future are put at risk; where we are less self-sufficient. Despite the benefits of domestic mining, we risk becoming as dependent on foreign minerals as we are on foreign oil.

Soon Congress could consider changes to the laws governing mineral mining on federal lands. If not done correctly, these changes could make it all but impossible to operate on federal lands and to attract the necessary investment to build new operations and to create additional jobs.
America’s enormous mineral wealth has been a source of economic strength and security for decades. But today, America attracts just 8 percent of worldwide mineral mining investment. That number could drop even further if Congress doesn’t get this right.

There has been much talk of late about the “New Energy Economy.” Well, you can’t get there without minerals, as wind turbines and towers are constructed of steel, which comes from minerals. The pads are constructed from concrete using limestone. Solar power requires silver and an array of specialty minerals. All of these are produced in Colorado.

America needs a national minerals policy that provides a predictable legal and regulatory framework for developing minerals on federal lands and that provides a fair return to the American taxpayer.

If we get it right, we can rely on our domestic minerals to help rebuild our economy and to provide jobs and a bright future to hundreds of communities. If we get it wrong, we will squander a source of strength and security that has benefitted all Americans.

Stuart Sanderson, President, Colorado Mining Association

Colorado Mining Association Teams with Fox Sports Network to Promote Mining

CMA has teamed with Fox Sports Network on a first ever television a campaign for Colorado mining. The ads, which highlight the economic contributions of mining and the importance of mineral products to our daily lives, and to the New Energy Economy, air during each Colorado Rockies game for the remainder of the baseball season. Click to see one of the ads below:

In addition, the Power Hit of the Week highlights an important fact about mining. We have highlighted coal, gold, molybdenum, and nacholite. Examples: that gold is a key component in cell phones or that the U.S. coal reserves contain more energy than all the oil in the Middle East.

Of course, we take credit for the Rockies run of success. They really started winning after CMA started advertising! Let's rock the Rockies to the World Series and spread positive messages about mining.