08/19/2026
We sent this letter to President Trump last week after seeing his new push on mining. BUT, he did not include us small-scale miners. We intend to change that. PLEASE SHARE
Here is the letter:
Mr. Shannon Poe
Founder & President, American Mining Rights Association (AMRA)
Supervisor, District II Mariposa County, California (Home of Yosemite)
(address, email and phone have been hidden for this post)
August 14, 2026
President Trump
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20500
SUBJECT: Request for Small-Scale Mining Representation in National Mineral Strategy
Dear Mr. President,
Thank you for your bold leadership and your recent August 7th address highlighting the critical need to secure America’s domestic mineral supply chains. As you rightly stated, miners are the people who built this country. Your historic allocation of over $3 billion to revitalize our mining infrastructure, support domestic production, and train the next generation of mining engineers is exactly the aggressive action our nation needs to secure our independence from China.
As the Founder and President of the American Mining Rights Association (AMRA)—a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational and advocacy organization founded in 2013—and as a small-scale gold miner myself, I am writing to respectfully request that our community be granted a formal "seat at the table" in ongoing White House roundtable discussions and strategic planning initiatives. AMRA represents the “little guy” who mines on the weekends, the suction dredger in Alaska, the 3-person hard rock operation in California or the placer miner in Montana. There are roughly 290,000 active and individual mining claim owners in the 19 states mining claims can be filed. The majority of these claims are small-scale miners. They feel they have no voice and we desperately need your help.
While major global mining corporations play a vital role, the domestic supply chain begins with the grassroots American explorer, the small-scale miner. We number in the millions across our nation, are overwhelmingly the ones who initially locate and prove up the critical mineral deposits that are later developed by the larger companies you just met with. We are the foundational pipeline of American mineral discovery. Unfortunately, despite our vital economic role, small-scale miners have been regulated to near-death by aggressive, overreaching state agencies in Western states like California, Oregon, and Washington to name a few. In my dual role as a Mariposa County Supervisor and an industry leader, I see firsthand how heavy-handed state regulations strangle small businesses, kill local jobs, and actively prevent patriotic Americans from uncovering the resources our country desperately needs for economic and national defense.
Your administration’s commitment to cutting red tape and decoupling our supply chain from foreign adversaries aligns perfectly with AMRA’s mission to fight for the "little guy." To truly secure American mineral dominance, the voices of millions of small-scale miners must be integrated into federal policy discussions alongside major corporate executives.
I would welcome the opportunity to meet with your staff, the Department of the Interior, or the Department of Commerce to discuss how AMRA and the small-scale mining community can support your administration's goals. Thank you for your time, your dedication to American workers, and your continued efforts to make America great again.
Respectfully and very Sincerely,
Mr. Shannon Poe
Founder & President, American Mining Rights Association
Supervisor, District II Mariposa County, California
Small-scale miner
