U.S. Presidential Candidate McCain Visits Bucyrus


Republican presidential hopeful Senator John McCain, third from left, addresses an economic-issues discussion
panel during an April visit to Bucyrus International Inc.’s manufacturing facilities in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
As the current United States presidential election campaign grinds toward this summer’s national nominating conventions, there has been little discussion of miningrelated issues among the candidates. However, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Senator John McCain, whose home state of Arizona hosts a number of large copper mines—and with more major projects currently in the pipeline there—is considered the most promining of the current candidates, if past words and actions are taken into account.

For example, in July 2007 McCain and his fellow Arizona Senator Jon Kyl introduced legislation for the third year in a row that would allow a new copper mine to be developed over a huge mineral deposit outside the town of Superior.

The mine project proposed by Resolution Copper Mining, the Arizona joint subsidiary of Britain’s Rio Tinto and Australia’s BHP Billiton, needs the legislation to pass to acquire federal land over the underground mine site. The bill would give Resolution Copper about 3,025 acres, 3 miles east of Superior in exchange for seven parcels totaling 4,583 acres of environmentally sensitive land throughout Arizona. The House of Representatives version of the bill, sponsored by Democrat Rep. Ed Pastor of Arizona, is still in the committee discussion state.

In April 2008, during a stopover in Elko, Nevada, McCain told a reporter from the Elko Daily Free Press newspaper that he is a staunch supporter of mining—a highly significant factor in northeastern Nevada’s economy.

On April 16, McCain addressed about 300 business people at an economic summit that took place at Bucyrus International Inc.’s mining equipment manufacturing facility in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The event included panel discussions of pressing trade and employment issues.

The first panel, “Investing in People and Making Government Work Better for Americans” included Carly Fiorina, former chairman and CEO of Hewlett-Packard; Paul Jones, chairman and CEO of A.O. Smith; Curt Culver, chairman and CEO of MGIC; Mike Knetter, dean of the University of Wisconsin School of Business; William Petasnik, CEO of Froedtert and Community Heath; and John Torinus, chairman of Serigraph Inc.

The second panel, “Spurring Innovation and Fostering Growth and Economic Freedom” included Tim Sullivan, president and CEO of Bucyrus; Kendall Powell, CEO of General Mills; Gale Klappa, chairman and CEO of WE Energies; Jim Haney, president of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce; and Ed Zore, president and CEO of Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance; and Jon Hammes, chairman and CEO of Hammes Company.

McCain discussed his new economic plan which he had first announced the previous day before the summit. However, he also heard from business leaders that they thought it would be a mistake for the U.S. to back out of trade deals such as the North American Free Trade Agreement. He was told that tariffs and protectionist measures could “backfire” and hurt U.S. companies engaged in international trade.

“If we don’t have free trade, the decision that we made to stay here in South Milwaukee and triple the capacity of this plant is lost,” Bucyrus CEO Tim Sullivan told McCain.

Bucyrus spent more than $42 million on expansions and renovations in South Milwaukee in 2007 and has more than doubled its employment since $150 million in expansion plans were announced three years ago.

Bucyrus and its Milwaukee competitor, Joy Global Corp., are entwined in the fastgrowing economies of Asia and eastern Europe. Trade agreements have helped fuel international equipment sales.

It would be “absolutely crazy” to dismantle the agreements, Sullivan said.

As featured in Womp 08 Vol 4 - www.womp-int.com