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The results are in, and unfortunately – though not surprisingly – the hot-off-the-press “2013 Ranking of Countries for Mining Investment: Where Not to Invest,” once again gives the United States the dubious honor of being tied for last place with Papua New Guinea when it comes to permitting delays.

Among various indicators, the instructive study released annually by the renowned mining advisory firm Behre Dolbear, ranks mining nations for the permitting processes to bring new mining projects online, and once more, it paints a troubling picture of the U.S. system (particularly when compared with countries like Australia, where the permitting process runs between one and a half to two years).

Here is American Resources Policy Network principal Daniel McGroarty’s statement on Behre Dolbear’s latest findings:

“Just 4 years ago, in 2009, the same study found that the U.S. permitting process took an average of 5 to 7 years. Today, it’s 7 to 10 years – a 40 percent increase in delays. Thanks to onerous federal rules on U.S. mine permitting, we are mired in last place with Papua New Guinea for the second year in a row. Meanwhile, other mining nations are leveraging their mineral resources to fuel manufacturing, drive economic growth, and create jobs without sacrificing environmental protections.

“This is deeply troubling at a time when other U.S. government agencies are recognizing the need to increase access to strategic and critical minerals. The Department of Defense recently released a study showing 23 metals and minerals in potential shortfall, and recommended for the first time since the Cold War that Congress take actions to stockpile them. And the Department of Energy has declared a dozen minerals critical to America’s green-tech and clean-energy transition.

“The Obama administration should take these findings very seriously. Permitting delays are handicapping America in the global resource wars. There is a direct link between domestic resource development and U.S. national security, manufacturing competitiveness, and the ability to innovate across numerous sectors of the economy.”

The 2013 Behre Dolbear report can be read in its entirety here:

As we have pointed out on numerous occasions, the United States has subjected itself to a significant degree of import dependency when it comes to the supply of critical minerals – a dependency that is in many cases homegrown and unnecessary. This over-reliance on foreign mineral sources comes with many strings attached, particularly when supplier nations fall into the category of those ranked only “partly free” or “not free” on various indices measuring freedom in the world.

The term “conflict minerals” has long entered the public discourse, but has really only “taken center stage for thousands of buying organizations across the United States” with the passage of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law and respective rules handed down by the SEC in 2012. Confusion relating to the requirements for companies to disclose whether they source conflict minerals – tantalum, tin, tungsten or gold – from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and its surrounding regions looms large.

Our friends at Metal Miner, who recently released a white paper on building responsible manufacturing supply chains in the context of conflict minerals, have organized an event for May 6 in Chicago aimed at providing interested parties “the opportunity to ask their most challenging questions of some of the industry’s most knowledgeable conflict minerals experts.”

To learn more about the event titled “Conflict Minerals EDGE,” click here.

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