...The Hermosa Mine is just one of scores of mining projects sprouting across the West to feed the global hunger for the so-called green metals used in clean energy technologies and electric vehicles, from the lithium, cobalt and nickel in EV and grid-scale batteries, to the rare earth elements in EV transmissions and solar panels.
It’s not just new projects that are getting a boost; decades-old proposals that withered in the face of environmental opposition are now being dusted off and given a new green sheen. What were once just gaping global corporate-profit machines are being reborn as essential to the push to decarbonize — with the added benefit of maybe showering oodles of cash on mining executives and shareholders.
This any-minute-now boom will be fueled by federal enticements and incentives designed to spur domestic production of these critical minerals. The Inflation Reduction Act’s $7,500 credit for electric vehicle purchases, for example, will apply only to cars with domestically mined battery materials. Plus, lithium, cobalt and nickel mine production will net mine operators a 10% tax credit, nothing to scoff at if you’re a billion-dollar corporation, or even if you’re not...MORE
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