Turkey top envoy goes to Niger in bid to secure uranium supplies
The trip comes after Niger’s military government withdrew mining rights from Canadian and French companies to develop uranium deposits.
Tom Scholl, CEO of Keystone Industries, told CNBC that he could put more people to work but the U.S. federal government is standing in the way.
Scholl said the states are working “pretty close” with the mining companies. It is the federal government that is holding up mining and not working fast enough on permitting. Scholl singled out the US Army Corp of Engineers as creating the slowdown.
“We are the Saudi Arabia of coal in the United Stats. It is a great export commodity. And any time you export it it is going to create a lot of jobs.”
Asked about the outlook for demand for coal, Scholl said there may be some slowdown this year, but demand should pickup next year because China’s economy continues to grow.
“I’m very positive on metallurgical coal,” said Scholl.
Keystone Coal is a private company located in Fort Myers, FL.
