Every year, the Western States Mining Collaborative Council (WSMCC) convenes in a members' state for an annual business meeting. This year, we were hosted by the team at The Montana Mining Association (MMA), in Butte. Over the course of three days, we had the opportunity to connect across states, engage with key federal, state, and local partners, and explore how the western region can work together to advance critical minerals (CM) and rare earth element (REE) projects in support of both national defense and domestic supply chain resilience.
We opened with an orientation session and reception at the historical (and possibly haunted, ha!) Hotel Finlen, which brought together council members, Montana’s congressional offices, state and local officials, industry partners, and academic representatives. Thank you to both P&C Recruiting | HR and Hecla Mining Company for sponsoring the day.
On September 10, our members toured Montana Resources’ copper and molybdenum operations, including the Berkeley Pit, Horseshoe Bend Water Treatment Facility, and CM/REE demonstration projects. The afternoon continued with a tour of the Anaconda Smelter and Opportunity Ponds, followed by an in-depth presentation from the Army Research Laboratory on its collaboration with MMA, Montana Tech, and Mountain West CM Hub initiatives.
We closed out the trip with a business meeting to map out critical mineral projects, infrastructure, geologic resources, regulatory and capital challenges, and state-level strategies responding to EO14241. Most importantly, our federal defense and security partners shared their needs and priorities. The work of MMA and learnings from this trip will serve as a blueprint for identifying existing assets, gaps, and coordinated opportunities across the western states to strengthen U.S. mineral independence. I look forward to continuing these efforts and working with this great group of leaders.
A big thank you to MMA President, Matt Vincent, and his team, for hosting us this year. The insights we collected will help us move forward as a united region committed to strengthening domestic mineral production and supply chains. I look forward to when we're all together next year in Nevada!
Julie Lucas Amanda Hilton Brian Somers Adam Eckman Mark Compton Travis Deti Emily Arthun Deantha Skibinski Judy Colgan