As the district representative of Operating Engineers Local 3 in Northern Nevada and a member of this union, I know firsthand the importance of the mining industry to our families and communities. We depend on jobs in the mining industry not to just have a future in which we live comfortably, but a future in which our planet isn’t being destroyed by climate change. Mining is crucial for both. I represent hundreds of mining members who feel the same way.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that rural towns throughout Nevada wouldn’t exist without mining. Some may say that the mining industry only benefits corporations, but the mining worker and his or her community needs the industry to actually survive. Critical mineral mining is the backbone of our local economy, and the benefits we get from our union work enable us to raise our families here in Nevada.

I know mining doesn’t always have support from certain environmental activists, but they miss its advantages for our local communities and the climate. Mineral mining is critical for combating climate change. 

Critical minerals are a key part of clean energy technology. The lithium extracted in Nevada is essential for lithium-ion batteries that power electric cars and clean energy storage technology, like solar cells. The only way for our country to continue to lead the rest of the world into the clean energy future is through mining critical minerals.

I care about our planet’s future, as do my colleagues. I want to be part of the generation that puts us on a path to a sustainable future. And it frustrates me to see so many discount the work our members provide to make that a reality. Anyone who condemns critical mineral mining has a fundamental misunderstanding of one of our most powerful tools to combat climate change.

Our clean energy economy, our working families and our rural communities in Nevada depend on mining operations, and our representatives in Congress have a responsibility to clear the roadblocks in its path.

There is currently legislation being proposed in Congress to do just that. Last year, a federal court decided mining companies are required to prove that all their operations are on mineral-rich land. This makes little sense. Not all parts of mining operations can or should be on mineral-rich land — mining-support activities such as waste rock storage, processing, vehicle storage, and administrative offices are all a part of mining operations, and forcing mining companies to use mineral-rich land for these activities is wasteful and inefficient. Because of the Rosemont decision, many new mine projects in Nevada will be delayed, holding up jobs and leaving workers and their families hanging.

That’s why the Mining Regulatory Clarity Act, led by Nevada’s Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, is so important. This legislation would reverse the harmful Rosemont decision and help Nevada mining projects create and protect more good-paying jobs. This bill does not allow unrestricted access to public lands, does not allow mining activity in national parks or other protected areas, and does not in any way diminish mining companies’ obligations to tribes or to the environment. We already have strict regulations for our mining operations, and I don’t want to see us lose out on critical mineral mining to countries such as China, whose labor and environmental practices are abysmal. Those jobs should be here in Nevada, and this law will help ensure the future of our operations.

When people think about mining, they often think of it as a nameless and faceless institution. In reality, the mining industry represents thousands of workers and families across our country. Mining critical minerals has given us good-paying jobs with great benefits, it strengthens our rural economies and it’s helping the United States lead the rest of the world into the clean energy future. This country needs to continue supporting mining operations for the sake of our families, our communities and our planet.

Dylan Gallagher is the district representative of Operating Engineers Local 3 in Northern Nevada.

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