by Mandy Gunasekara
The media is now working overtime to change the background of events Ticket for Harris Waltz. All eyes were on Vice President Kamala Harris vice president candidateMinnesota Governor Tim Walz has his hands full.
Get ready for a fresh, polished version of Walz, in which he is cast as a moderate, pro-labor Midwesterner—a counterbalance to Kamala’s left-wing liberalism. But Walz is not like that, and American steelworkers, their families, and the communities surrounding the Twin Metals mine in northeastern Minnesota know this all too well.
Northeastern Minnesota is fortunate to have an abundance of critical and strategic metals that are key components of our up-to-date lives. There is an area there called the Duluth Complex, which the U.S. Geological Survey says is house the largest undeveloped deposits of nickel, cobalt and platinum group minerals (PGM) in the world.
The Twin Metals mine is specifically positioned as the most up-to-date underground operation in the Duluth intricate, utilizing advanced and precise methods mining that could supply these much-needed metals to emerging markets.
Given that these metals are key components of cellphones and cars — both gas-powered and electric — as well as solar panels and windmills, having these minerals here in the United States should be welcome news. That should be especially true for an administration like Biden-Harris, which is hell-bent on restructuring our entire utility and vehicle industries to make them greener.
From a practical perspective, this type of restructuring will require a huge amount of minerals, which are located in the Twin Metals mine and are very accessible there. Globally, one quote suggests that to achieve electrification goals, the world will need to produce as much copper in the next 25 years as humanity has produced in the last 5,000 years.
Unfortunately, the Biden-Harris administration has not only canceled two long-standing mineral leases at the Twin Metals mine, but also imposed a 20-year moratorium on surrounding areas. decision threatened 750 direct jobs and 1,500 additional jobs in surrounding towns that the mine was supposed to maintain.
Many of those jobs were for the United Steelworkers, which was supposed to build and operate the $1.7 billion mine. As often as the Biden-Harris administration has talked about creating green energy jobs, it has taken numerous actions that have canceled jobs that actually exist.
Walz oversaw the entire disaster. And when the Twin Metals mine and local labor organizations I asked as a lifeline after Biden and Harris talks canceled, he responded… more process! Specifically, Walz’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has allowed the mine to explore surrounding public and private lands for minerals, but reiterated that there will be no actual mining, and that such a decision likely won’t be made until several years after a “lengthy environmental impact study and permitting process.”
In other words, unbureaucratic: it is paralysis caused by project analysis.
These canceled projects and mining operations were supposed to be done in compliance with U.S. safety and environmental standards. Instead, China will benefit from Biden-Harris cancellation and Walz’s complacency.
In addition to concerns about the negative impact on the environment, some reports have shown that foreign minerals are being extracted using forced child labor. From a national security perspective, this anti-development approach is equally harmful, as the U.S. dependence on foreign minerals continues to grow. In particular, when it comes to the minerals buried in gigantic quantities at the Twin Metals mine, the U.S. is more than In the case of nickel, imports are 50 percent dependent, in the case of platinum – 79 percent, in the case of cobalt – 76 percent and in the case of copper – 37 percent.
Those who have seen Walz in action up close, including Republicans Rep. Pete StauberThey raised the alarm about consequences his anti-mining, anti-energy policies. Under his watch, Minnesota’s electricity costs rose shot up for residents.
Things are even worse for businesses. Minnesota can now boast the highest industrial electricity Midwest prices.
Walz’s folksy appearance aside, he has embraced extreme Californian climate fanaticism. He has signed his state to “100% carbon-free electricity by 2040“what is estimated at Cost Billions of dollars, doubling electricity prices by 2034, leading to power outages and the elimination of jobs.
He also wants to ban gasoline-powered vehicles.
Walz’s aggressive, anti-development approach, especially on energy and the environment, mirrors that of failing socialist states. It is no wonder that Minnesota has experienced significant falls under his leadership.
No matter how the media portrays him, they cannot erase his story of selling out the Twin Metals mine workers to the liberal left.
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Mandy Gunasekara served as Chief of Staff of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under President Trump.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Tim Walz” by Gage Skidmore.CC BY-SA 2.0.
