Did you see this scary article about car manufacturers getting into lithium mining?

The ‘land grab’ for lithium is just getting started with GM deal, says EV materials expert

PLEASE PAY ATTENTION!! They are coming after the Black Hills for this so-called “Green” energy. There are now at least 9 Lithium mining operators in the Black Hills, mostly in Custer and Pennington Counties. 

Call or Email Senate Taxation Committee TODAY 💦

What are South Dakota lawmakers doing? House Bill 1072 will be heard this Friday, Feb. 3 at 8:00 am CST in Pierre.

While we don’t want any lithium mining, we can do something about this situation. House Bill 1072 in the SD State Legislature would make it so that lithium miners have to pay a severance tax and a conservation tax for each pound of lithium that they mine. This money could help counties and the state deal with the problems that lithium mining is bringing. House Bill 1072 will be heard this Friday, at 9:00 am MT in Pierre.

What can you do?

Please email or call the members of the Senate Taxation Committee by the end TODAY (Thursday) before their Friday morning hearing. Email and/or Call and Ask them to SUPPORT charging a severance tax on lithium mining by supporting House Bill 1072. BE SURE to say what town or county you are from, because legislators need to know that we are the people they are supposed to represent in Pierre.

Here are some points to make —

• There are currently nine known lithium operators in the Black Hills, about half of them from Australia and Canada.
• Lithium mining creates issues for county, state, and federal governments, such as damage to roads from heavy truck traffic, water pollution, and often lack of reclamation.
• Fixing these issues costs money, but currently lithium miners pay only a $100 a year fee.
• Charging lithium miners a severance tax — like other mining operations — would help governments deal with these issues.

DO NOT copy this exactly — use your own words. Always be respectful.

Reach the Senate Taxation Committee members at

https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Committee/1185/Detail

You can click on the name to get their email address. Please contact all of them. All but one are from East River, so they are probably less aware of mining issues. Be sure to include your town or county.

THANK YOU!