If White House Allows State to Produce Minerals the U.S. Needs
The 2022 report by the McKinley Research Group shows that Alaska’s mining industry injected more than $2 billion into the state economy during 2021. n $985 million in wages were paid to 10,800 people n Average wage $130,000 to workers that live in 95 Alaska n $640 million spent for goods and services provided by more than 400 Alaska businesses n $161 million in royalty payments to Alaska Native corporations n $83 million in state mining licenses, taxes, rents, royalties, and other fees n $44 million in local taxes and payments n $3.3 million in donations to 250 Alaska nonprofits n $1.1 million to support education in the state
the biggest producers of gold in the world once it starts to operate,” he continued. The cobalt, copper, graphite, and rare earths touted by the governor are critical to the electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure required for the low-carbon energy future envisioned by the Biden administration. The World Bank estimates that roughly 550 million tons of copper will be needed for low-carbon technologies such as wind turbines, solar panels, and electric vehicles over the next 25 years, which is roughly equivalent to the total copper mined globally since the dawn of the Bronze Age some 5,000 years ago. In addition, roughly 1.6 billion lb of cobalt and 8.6 billion lb of graphite, which is roughly four times the total amount mined globally last year, along with 360 million lb of rare earths, will be needed each year to hit the EV sales benchmarks set by global governments and automakers. Despite this critical need, there was no graphite or cobalt mined in the U.S. last year and the mixed rare earth products produced in California had to be shipped to China where they were separated into the individual
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www.alaskaminers.org I The Alaska Miner I June 2022
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