TX Mining Monthly
June 2021
Features
The 2021 Texas legislative session began on Jan. 12 and the items that everyone expected the members to address included: budget, redistricting, COVID response, and Governor’s emergency over-reach. As the session began, the makeup in the Senate was 18 Republicans and 13 Democrats while the House had 83 Republicans and 67 Democrats. On the first day of session, the House voted in new Speaker of the House Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont). He was joined in state leadership by incumbents Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick.
 
President Biden last week detailed a $6 trillion fiscal year 2022 budget that, according to the White House, prioritizes climate change, clean energy and infrastructure investments. The White House described it as a "whole of government" approach for spending a total of $36 billion in the coming fiscal year to help put the nation on a pathway to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. Earlier this spring, the administration laid out broad budget goals that would boost discretionary spending to $1.52 trillion for fiscal 2022, an increase of $118 billion or 8.8% over current funding.
 
U.S. climate envoy John F. Kerry delivered a dire warning recently on "the mounting costs ... of global warming and of a more volatile climate." Last year’s tally of "22 hurricanes, floods, droughts and wildfires shattered the previous annual record of 16 such events, and that was set only four years ago," Kerry told a congressional hearing. "You don’t have to be a scientist to begin to feel that we’re looking at a trend line."
 
Uranium Industry Committee Members, Governor Gordon announced recently that "The state will house the first Natrium reactor in a partnership with Gates’ TerraPower company, the U.S. Department of Energy and PacifiCorp..."  It will be built "...within one of four retiring coal power plants..."  This is a positive step for Wyoming toward becoming a technology leader in the generation of nuclear power. 
 
ROMCO Equipment Company
Waukesha-Pearce Industries, LLC
Industry News
  
The Coal Markets Report has been updated for the business week ending May 21, 2021. All spot prices have remained unchanged from the week ending April 30, 2021. Spot prices are in dollars per short ton and are for delivery in the third quarter of 2021. There are no available prices for delivery in the second quarter of 2021. Additional coal data are available in EIA's Coal Data Browser.
  
Why were electric coops created anyway? Take a look at this great primer on how electric coops have served America's rural communities since the 1930s by abiding by seven main principles.
  
Copper is the new "gold." Driven by its use in electric-vehicle batteries, wind turbines and other clean energy technologies, copper has doubled in price in the past year. But we have a serious problem on our hands. There isn't enough copper to go around. Copper supplies can't keep pace with fast-growing demand largely because there are few major copper mines in development and many existing mines are nearing peak capacity. Failure to rebuild America’s industrial base from the mine up could very well mean failure to rebuild it at all.
  
Infrastructure projects would literally fall apart without steel. There’s 57,000 tons of steel in the Empire State Building and six billion tons of steel in the U.S. highway system. And 70 percent of the world’s steel requires coal, specifically metallurgical or met coal. Met coal includes the various grades of coal suitable for carbonization to make coke for steel manufacturing, and our infrastructure products would be impossible without it.
TMRA News

Online Registration
Registration Opens
8/16/2021 8:00 AM
Registration Closes
10/1/2021 5:00 PM

Learn More!

We are in the process of developing a social media campaign for our Facebook and Twitter social media channels – #TheFutureIsBright – to highlight how you, a TMRA member, are supplying the power and materials that ensure a bright future as we move through 2021.
 
Email Christian Goff at cgoff@pureenergypr.com to learn more or to submit your photo. 
 
HOLT CAT
Sponsor a Teacher
  
You can Sponsor A Teacher anytime during the year. This Sponsor A Teacher program gives all members/companies an opportunity to support TMRA’s successful teacher education program. A contribution of $1,500 will sponsor one teacher for a workshop that covers teaching materials, meals, lodging, etc. This is your chance to promote our industry by sponsoring a teacher! To learn more, click below.
Safety
  
If you’re a miner who has to work on, near or around a belt conveyor, it’s important to always be aware of the hazards that you might run across. A significant number of injuries and fatalities over the last few years have occurred when miners were working in the proximity of moving conveyors, while some have involved maintenance of an idle conveyor. All of them could have been prevented.
Reclamation
  
Conservation and reclamation play large roles in the mining industry. TMRA member San Miguel Electric Cooperative is very involved with the resurgence of the beloved Horned Lizard through a program at the San Antonio Zoo. RRC Field Inspector Kathryn Ward recently spotted a Horned Lizard while out in Reeves County and snapped a photo. Learn more below.
Technology
  
More than 4,000 ransomware attacks on energy infrastructure have occurred daily since January of 2016 according to the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. While most attacks are stopped, or quietly quarantined, some have made the news. The cyber threat has been omni-present for years but only now are we starting to grapple with just how vulnerable critical infrastructure is to bad actors.
Legislative Update
  
As Congress prepares to vote on a national infrastructure bill, one of the mysteries is why it has taken so long to recognize the need for more domestic production of critically important minerals and metals in the United States. Unless we have control of the materials that drive our economy, we place our security in the hands of countries whose policies are not always in our best interests.
TMRA Tools and Tips

Stay Connected with TMRA Social Media! 

We are building our social media presence and we invite all TMRA members and interested parties to join the conversation! Click below to get started today!


Facebook 

Twitter
Upcoming Events
1
Jan 2021
 
TMRA has added events for 2021 to its meeting calendar that now goes through the end of the year. Click below to see all events and stay updated!
1
Sep 2021
 
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
2
Sep 2021
 
12:00 PM - 3:00 PM
17
Oct 2021
 
October 17-19, 2021
Submit a Story
  
We are always looking to share news that is relevant and timely for TMRA members. If you have a submission and would like more information on deadlines, the type of content we are looking for and how to submit an idea, please reach out to Senior Content Strategist at rryals@naylor.com!
Help a Friend Join TMRA
  
As the owner of a business that is influenced by the mining economy, you have an interest in the issues that impact the industry. TMRA helps to keep members updated and informed. Please click below to learn more about the many benefits of being a TMRA member.