Odd Lots · Saturday, September 12, 2026
Robert Friedland explains the 'banana principle' as the core reason why building new mines in the United States is so challenging: 'build absolutely nothing anywhere near anybody.' He contrasts the high labor costs and stringent environmental regulations in the US with lower costs and higher ore grades found in other parts of the world, which has led to a decline in domestic mining and a reliance on foreign supply chains.
“So the banana principle is build absolutely nothing anywhere near anybody.”
“If I want to mine copper in the United States, The United Steelworkers of America want over $100 an hour to go underground.”
“And we have environmental legislation and legal constraints that make it much more expensive to mine in the United States.”