Ben Luján

Regarding the April 9 op-ed “It should take two years to open a mine. Why does it take 29?” by Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming):

Lummis is right that permitting needs reform. But the claim that it takes an average of 29 years to open a mine, which comes from a report by S&P Global Market Intelligence that was supported by the National Mining Association, was wrongly skewed because it included some of the country’s most contested proposals. Massive projects such as Pebble Mine in Alaska and Resolution Copper in Arizona were mired in conflicts, including opposition from local communities and tribal nations, that the U.S.’s 154-year-old mining law was not designed to resolve. The report also did not include dozens of recently permitted mines.