Enan Kenyon’s Post

U.S. takes action to curtail oil, gas drilling, and mining activities in Alaska On Friday, the Biden administration initiated measures to curtail oil, gas drilling, and mining activities in Alaska. These steps have drawn criticism from state officials who argue that such restrictions could lead to job losses and increase U.S. dependence on foreign resources, according to Reuters. https://lnkd.in/draa_XBa However, environmentalists have welcomed these measures. These actions are in line with President Biden’s strategy to control oil and gas operations on public lands and aim to preserve 30% of U.S. lands and waters to mitigate climate change. The Interior Department has put into effect a rule that prevents oil and gas exploitation on 40% of Alaska’s National Petroleum Preserve. This move is intended to safeguard the habitats of polar bears, caribou, and other wildlife, as well as the lifestyle of indigenous communities. . Furthermore, the department has decided to turn down a state agency’s proposal to build a 211-mile (340-km) road that would facilitate mining development in the Ambler Mining District in north-central Alaska. The decision was made considering the potential threats to the caribou and fish populations, which many native communities depend on for their livelihood, according to Reuters. President Biden expressed his pride in his administration’s efforts to conserve over 13 million acres in the Western Arctic and respect the culture, history, and wisdom of Alaska Natives who have been the custodians of these lands for generations. The National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A), a 23 million-acre (93 million hectares) region on the state’s North Slope, is the largest undisturbed public land in the U.S. The newly implemented rule will ban oil and gas leasing on 10.6 million acres (4.3 million hectares) and restrict development on an additional 2 million acres (809,000 hectares). However, this rule will not impact existing oil and gas projects, including ConocoPhillips’ $8 billion Willow project, which received approval from the Biden administration last year. At present, oil and gas leases span approximately 2.5 million acres (1 hectare). The Alaska Industrial and Development Export Authority had proposed the Ambler Access Project, which would pave the way for mining development in an area rich in copper, zinc, and lead deposits, thereby creating jobs. On Friday, the Interior Bureau of Land Management published its environmental analysis of the project, recommending “no action” as the preferred alternative. https://lnkd.in/dXBXFPGA The project now awaits a final decision from the Interior Department. Picture credit: Bureau of Land Management #alaska #drilling #mining #wildlife

U.S. takes action to curtail oil, gas drilling, and mining activities in Alaska On Friday, the Biden administration initiated measures to curtail oil, gas drilling, and mining activities in Alaska. These steps have drawn criticism from state officials who argue that such restrictions could lead to job losses and increase U.S. dependence on foreign resources, according to Reuters. https://lnkd.in/gBqSmsnc However, environmentalists have welcomed these measures. These actions are in line with President Biden’s strategy to control oil and gas operations on public lands and aim to preserve 30% of U.S. lands and waters to mitigate climate change. The Interior Department has put into effect a rule that prevents oil and gas exploitation on 40% of Alaska’s National Petroleum Preserve. This move is intended to safeguard the habitats of polar bears, caribou, and other wildlife, as well as the lifestyle of indigenous communities. . Furthermore, the department has decided to turn down a state agency’s proposal to build a 211-mile (340-km) road that would facilitate mining development in the Ambler Mining District in north-central Alaska. The decision was made considering the potential threats to the caribou and fish populations, which many native communities depend on for their livelihood, according to Reuters. President Biden expressed his pride in his administration’s efforts to conserve over 13 million acres in the Western Arctic and respect the culture, history, and wisdom of Alaska Natives who have been the custodians of these lands for generations. The National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A), a 23 million-acre (93 million hectares) region on the state’s North Slope, is the largest undisturbed public land in the U.S. The newly implemented rule will ban oil and gas leasing on 10.6 million acres (4.3 million hectares) and restrict development on an additional 2 million acres (809,000 hectares). However, this rule will not impact existing oil and gas projects, including ConocoPhillips’ $8 billion Willow project, which received approval from the Biden administration last year. At present, oil and gas leases span approximately 2.5 million acres (1 hectare). The Alaska Industrial and Development Export Authority had proposed the Ambler Access Project, which would pave the way for mining development in an area rich in copper, zinc, and lead deposits, thereby creating jobs. On Friday, the Interior Bureau of Land Management published its environmental analysis of the project, recommending “no action” as the preferred alternative. https://lnkd.in/dwb4N7Un The project now awaits a final decision from the Interior Department. Picture credit: Bureau of Land Management #alaska #drilling #mining #wildlife

The energy transition requires tons of rare earth minerals, those minerals need to be mined, and those mines need permitting. #EnergyTransition #mining #mines #permitting #stantec #stantecproud

Tom, for me the penny dropped when I read Naomi Klein's "This Changes Everything". She described a simple calculation: Oil companies list future oil reserves (i.e. money to be made from drilling to be done many years from now) as assets. But the amount of oil they would need to sell in order to justify those financial "assets" on their books is something like 5 times more than they could ever sell if they took climate change (and the remaining CO2 budgets calculated by scientists) seriously. So they're basically already bankrupt. The laws of accounting just haven't caught up with the laws of nature yet. Did I understand that correctly, Zsolt Zoe Christian Mark Philip? (you know I'm not a finance guy so please correct me if I'm wrong) #impactinvesting #startuplife #sustainability

Happy Birthday to the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA)! SMCRA grew out of the environmental concerns around strip mining. Surface coal mining had been around since the 1930s, and some states began regulating them in the 1940s. Despite this, with high demand for coal power, environmental concerns were often set aside or ignored. With regulations varying from state to state, it was hard to hold mining companies to a consistent standard. In the early 1970s, as surface mining became more prevalent, Congress sent mining regulation bills to President Ford, only to be vetoed. Congress persevered, however, and in 1977 President Carter signed SMCRA into law. SMCRA both regulates active coal mines and created a reclamation program for abandoned mine lands. The active mine program sets standards for environmental impacts, require companies to obtain permits and post reclamation bonds prior to mining, gives inspectors authority to review mining operations and enforce violations; and restricts mining altogether on certain lands such as National Parks and Wilderness Areas. For inactive coal mines, SMCRA created an Abandoned Mine Land (AML) fund, financed by a tax on coal, to pay for reclamation and safeguarding of mines that were abandoned prior to 1977 (it was later amended to allow funds to be spent on post-1977 abandoned mines as well). Part of the fund also supports responding to emergencies such as coal fires, subsidence, and landslides. Colorado's Inactive Mine Reclamation Program receives, on average, $3 million each year in "fee based" funding for safeguarding and program operations, in addition to approximately $10 million for coal related reclamation from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. There is no other program to address past mining hazards, and minimal funding is available for environmental projects.

This is an interesting development. Greenwashing is a serious matter. Before your company claims sustainability, environmental protection, zero-emissions, or anything green, make sure that you can back it up with actual figures and stats. If you don't, you will land yourself in hot water. This is not only relevant to mining companies, but to the entire supply chain, and also not only to the mining sector, but to other economic sectors as well. WhyAfrica published an article last week titled "Greenwashing Africa's green metals" written by Claire Tucker at law firm Bowmans (Law Firm) South Africa that looks at the risks of greenwashing your operations. Claire writes: " Terms like ‘environmentally friendly’, ‘biodegradable’, and ‘climate neutral’ will require concrete evidence and previous practices such as offsetting will no longer be allowed. "These developments are likely to see increased scrutiny along the value chain of EU companies making ‘green’ and ‘net-zero’ claims, even leading to the examination of the mining practices of the green metals supporting net-zero technologies. "This move not only protects consumers from misleading marketing but also propels companies towards more genuine and verifiable sustainable practices. "We expect these practices to become standard in developed markets which, by necessary implication, will impact suppliers in Africa." If you are struggling to get your message across without using buzzwords that might land you in trouble, contact WhyAfrica, we will be able to assist. WhyAfrica specialises in the sustainable utilisation and responsible extraction of natural resources in Africa. #whyafrica #mining #ESG #environmentalmanagement #greenwashing #sustainability #africa

Although several infrastructure projects in Malawi came to a grinding halt towards the middle of last year, the government of President Lazarus Chakwera has put in place a project pipeline that will hopefully revive the #transport, #logistics #infrastructure and #construction sectors. President Chakwera is hopeful that the expansion of the current road and rail infrastructure network will boost the development of agriculture, #tourism and #mining in a country beset by economic difficulties and geographic constraints. Last year Malawi’s construction, transport, logistics and infrastructure sectors bore the full brunt of a second currency devaluation in two years. The country devalued the Malawian kwacha by 30% against the US dollar last year, saying it was needed to correct supply-demand imbalances in the currency market. In May 2022, Malawi’s kwacha lost 25% of its value against the US dollar after a much-needed devaluation. Prior to that, Malawi had last devalued its currency in 2012. The November 2023 devaluation inevitably resulted in a scarcity of foreign exchange, fuel and cement shortages and contractors suspending work on current building projects. However, in his February State Of The Nation Address, President Chakwera said that all disputes have been settled and that the country’s much needed infrastructure revival is back on track. In addition to the large infrastructure projects currently in progress, President Chakwera announced a list of projects in the pipeline that might be of interest to contractors. WhyAfrica will visit Malawi again later this year as part of our 2024 WhyAfrica Road Trip through South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi and Tanzania. During this year’s Road Trip, we aim to visit about 30 project sites and interview more than 40 stakeholders in less than 40 days. There are still a number of sponsorship, advertising and partnership opportunities available. Leon Louw #whyafrica #infrastructure #construction #cement #concrete #quarrying #malawi #civilengineeering #construction #africa #whybuildafrica

Sad times for mining ⛏️ in the Yukon. I feel like this and other issues have been a failure of the Yukon Government and the mining industry. It’s easy to point the finger at the government for not holding us as mining companies accountable but as reputable companies with huge stakes in the industry we as a whole should do better. Instead of just following our water licences and land use regulations, we should be holding ourselves to an almost impossible standard. And accountability should be held down the line. Employers should have much better training on how their actions affect the environment. And what the long-term effects will be. And if I step out of these near to impossible guidelines (even as an operator) I should be held accountable. As a mill Operation employee working in the Yukon, BC and The North Wester Territories since 2003 I’ve seen a lot of positive changes come to the mining industry. But we still have a lot of room to grow. The new companies that are up and coming have a uphill challenge to overcome things like this unfortunate situation at the Eagle Gold Mine. But if we as mining companies get ahead of this and do more then what the world expects of us, we can make a world of difference. https://lnkd.in/gtMhhkYY

In 2024, certain changes may be implemented to the legislation regulating the permitting process of mining operations. In March 2023, investigator Inge Karlström submitted a ministerial memorandum to the Swedish Government with proposals for legislative changes regarding the assessment of mining operations. In the report, it is proposed that the assessment of Natura 2000 permits should no longer take place in connection with the application for an exploitation concession under the Minerals Act, but instead in connection with the assessment of permit under the Environmental Code. The amendments in question are proposed to be effective as of 1 July 2024. Read Tove Skärblom & Andréas Åhlund article below.

In line with one of the 2023 report recommendations from the Interagency Working Group on Mining Regulations, Laws, and Permitting, the Biden administration has introduced a new policy to enhance early communication with tribes. The initiative focuses on ensuring that tribes are promptly informed about proposals for mineral exploration on federal land. #tribalconsultation #mineralexploration