Republican Rep. Pete Stauber is teeing up a debate in the House this week around the need for copper just a week after successfully lifting a Biden-era ban on mining near Minnesota’s pristine Boundary Waters.
The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, which Stauber chairs, will hear from energy markets analyst Daniel Yergin, industry associations and a scientist from the Natural Resources Defense Council on Wednesday about the nation’s growing appetite for copper and how to respond.
The hearing will likely showcase an ongoing debate about the need for new copper mines that are riling the public in states like Minnesota and Arizona, the impact of those projects on the environment, and what role recycling can play to meet national demand.
Yergin, for example, said during an interview with CNBC in January that global demand for copper will double by 2040 amid the push to electrify and the advent of artificial intelligence.
