Joe Biden’s on a roll. After banning uranium mining in Arizona, the president’s Department of the Interior announced a proposal to ban mining and oil-drilling in northern New Mexico for 50 years.
DOI’s proposal will federalize 4,000 acres of “sacred Tribal lands” and promote their “scenic integrity, cultural importance, recreational values, and wildlife habitat connectivity.” The specific land Biden is looking to “protect” contains the some of the state’s largest gravel mines. Not to mention, New Mexico has vast copper, silver, and lead deposits.
The more valuable resources Biden cuts off, the longer the U.S. remains dependent on China and other foreign entities for minerals. America can’t achieve energy or mineral independence anytime soon, and federal initiatives to ban mining certainly don’t help U.S. industry.