In 1987 the first platinum mine outside of South Africa and the former Soviet Union was opened in Montana. The Stillwater mine now provides some of this strategic mineral that formerly had to be imported from politically unstable countries. Platinum, the world's most precious metal, is important not only for its use in electronics, but also for its use in calalytic converters, one of the most important environmental protection advances. Gold, too, is being mined at a greater rate in the United States, particularly since technological advances have allowed lower grades of ore to be mined economically. As late as 1980, the United States imported 82 percent of the gold used by domestic manufacturers.
Mining works for America.