Judgment Day For Mining ETFs

Analysts covering the U.S. mining industry no doubt spend a great deal of their time monitoring activity in resource rich South America and searching through the latest bulletins out of Beijing for hints on the strength of China’s raw materials appetite. But the future of the industry may depend on an escalating conflict in a tiny West Virginia town, where the coal industry and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are locked in a struggle that could have major ramifications for mining operations throughout the country. In 2007, the Army Corps of Engineers approved a permit to blast for coal in an Appalachian valley known as Pigeonroost Hollow. But now the project, known as Spruce 1, is in serious jeopardy. The Obama administration’s EPA has broken with the more coal-friendly policies of the Bush era, and is threatening to drastically scale back the mining operation or veto the permit altogether. Although the [...] Click here to read the original article on ETFdb.com. Related Stories: Afghanistan: The Next Frontier For Mining ETFs? Mining ETFs: Ready To Rally? Mining ETFs In Focus As Rudd Departs Prime Minister Post