Biden will support the development of copper and lithium mines in the United States to promote the development of electric vehicle industry

SMM: although Biden has always stressed his position on environmental protection, it does not mean that he will follow the strict environmental regulation road of former President Barack Obama, hindering domestic mining in the United States.

The campaign of US presidential candidate Joe Biden has privately told US miners that Biden will support domestic metal mining to promote the development of electric vehicles, solar energy and other products in line with his environmental protection plan, foreign media quoted people familiar with the matter as saying. This will be beneficial to the development of copper and lithium mining industry in the United States.

Will not follow Obama's old path?

When the Obama administration was in office, it issued strict environmental regulations that restricted the development of the US mining industry. Biden, who once served as Obama's deputy, has also been a firm advocate of environmental protection, so he has been widely expected to crack down on the US mining industry through environmental regulation, just like Obama.

Mr Trump, by contrast, has been a staunch supporter of domestic mining in the US, having issued an executive order encouraging coal mining.

However, according to sources, Biden will support the establishment of domestic supply chains for strategic materials imported by the United States from China or other countries, such as lithium, copper, rare earths and nickel-contrary to past speculation.

According to insiders at US mining giant Glencore, Glencore is still investing in Minnesota copper projects, and even if Biden wins, there are no plans to reduce the size of the investment. This shows that the U. S. mining industry is also betting that Biden will take a friendly stance on the mining industry.

Previously, the market had worried that Biden, if elected, could affect the Minnesota copper project, which ran counter to the previous Obama administration's environmental position.

Glencore and the Biden campaign declined to comment.

The development of electric vehicles and solar energy is inseparable from the establishment of mining supply chain.

As China has become the world's largest producer or consumer of metals used in electric cars, mobile phones and other high-tech devices, the US has had to rethink its strategy on metal resources.

Biden has previously said that if he wins the election, he plans to spend $2 trillion on electric vehicle infrastructure, solar energy and other green projects.

"Biden's government will emphasize green energy, and in order to get more solar panels, more raw materials must be obtained," the source said. "these raw materials can not be produced from a test tube."

Sources said Biden agreed with Trump's position of encouraging the development of domestic mining, but opposed Trump's anti-China remarks and his intention to simplify the federal approval process.

Analysts at Fengye Bank of Canada expect Biden's plan to be a boon to U. S. copper miners for years. Copper ore is one of the metals with the best electrical conductivity, which is widely used in the field of electric vehicles.

If Biden wins, it will provide federal licensing guarantees for a copper project in Minnesota by Twin Metals, a subsidiary of Chilean mining company Antofagasta (Antofagasta Plc).

At the same time, lithium mining companies will also benefit. Lithium is a key material for the production of electric vehicle batteries, and if Biden wins, lithium mining companies such as (Lithium Americas Corp) of the Americas, Albany Energy Company (Albemarle Corp.) and Standard Lithium will all benefit.

Employees of American lithium companies have nearly doubled their donations to Democrats this year compared with 2016, according to the Biden campaign.

"rebuilding the mining supply chain is closely related to miners," said Nolan (Rich Nolan), president of the National Mining Association. "Biden's campaign understands the need for a domestic [mining] supply chain."

With less than two weeks to go before the November 3 US election, opinion polls generally show Biden ahead of Trump. According to the New York Times poll, as of October 22, Biden had an approval rate of 48% in the poll, while Trump had an approval rate of 41% in the poll.