A lobbying arm of the American mining industry roughly doubled its spending last year as Congress took up legislation to overhaul the law that allows a category of mining companies, unlike oil and gas firms, to operate on federal land without paying royalties.
The National Mining Association spent $2.1 million lobbying federal agencies and Congress in 2021, records show, a sharp uptick from 2020 and 2019, when the NMA spent $1.1 million and $1.2 million respectively.
“We don’t comment on our lobbying activities,” said Conor Bernstein, an NMA spokesman.
