Northern New Mexico awarded $70K for post-mining jobs
Taos County’s congressional delegation announced Feb. 23 a $70,000 grant to spur job creation and economic development in the areas of Northern New Mexico impacted by the shuttering of the Questa Chevron molybdenum mine.
The money will be given out on a three-year cycle to the North Central New Mexico Economic Development District, which serves Taos, Colfax, Rio Arriba, Los Alamos, Mora, San Miguel, and Santa Fe counties.
Specifically, the grant money will go toward the creation and implementation of a “Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy,” according to a press release from U.S. Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich and Rep. Ben Ray Luján, D-NM.
"The Village of Questa and the surrounding area were devastated when Chevron permanently closed its molybdenum mine in 2014. This grant will provide much-needed resources to help the region continue to recover and diversify the local economy," said Udall.
"The funding will help the region promote a strategy that will encourage smart investments in the private and public sectors to create good jobs. And I will keep working with the Village of Questa and others affected by the mine closure to find new opportunities to help get the community back on its feet,” he said.
"The Questa community is still recovering from the abrupt closure of the Chevron molybdenum mine," said Heinrich. "This infusion of economic development funds will help create good jobs that will diversify the local economy and ensure that former miners in Questa are not left behind."
“One of my top priorities is helping to grow the economy and create jobs in this part of our state,” said Luján. “This grant is a smart investment that will encourage job growth for the Village of Questa and the surrounding area.”
The grant is provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration.
