A panel of lawmakers and experts has begun looking into the state of the mining industry in Arizona with the ultimate aim of helping the industry grow.

Among the topics discussed: streamlining the permitting process and making it more affordable for mining companies to operate. Missing from the debate was any mention of the negative impacts of mining.

If there were any doubt as to the purpose of the meeting by an ad hoc committee on mining regulations on Nov. 2, Sen. Sylvia Allen of Snowflake made it clear when she asked an executive from a copper company to compare the tax burden in Arizona with other countries where his firm also operates.

When the executive replied that he doesn’t think taxation in Arizona is a “significant impediment,” Allen pressed for further explanation.

“This is what the committee is about. It is trying to figure out what we can do in Arizona to help business come here, help business stay here, help business stay in business here. And so you need to be real frank with us and to have the courage to do that if you can,” she said.

Rick McMillan, senior vice president & general counsel of Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold, said the regulatory cost in the United States compared to the countries where his company also operates is “extraordinarily high.”

The panel will delve deeper into potential regulatory changes in the mining industry at its next hearing on Nov. 16.

Rep. Russ Jones, who co-chairs the ad hoc committee with Allen, said the mining industry has been “kind of taken (for) granted” as the state has focused on attracting high-tech and environmentally friendly industries during the past few years.

Jones, a Republican from Yuma, said Arizona wants to attract green businesses but it shouldn’t be at the expense of overlooking the mining industry, one of the traditional engines of growth in Arizona.

“Agriculture, cattle, mining — they are here. We already have them,” Jones said. “And so they are kind of the low-hanging fruit. If we are looking at economic stimulus, economic recovery of the state, here is an opportunity to take existing industries that here are now today that can grow and help us recover from the difficult times we’ve been through.”

Jones said among the areas he is considering addressing through legislation are the number of inspections, bond requirements, permit requirements and reclamation requirements in the industry.

More specifically, Jones is looking at the possibility of streamlining the permitting process, and perhaps designating one agency to take the lead in issuing a single, all-encompassing permit.

“Could you have one permit with different sections pertaining to different agencies so that we could reduce the regulatory requirements?” Jones said.

McMillan said the mining industry was hammered late last year when the price of copper plummeted, and as a result, the industry has had to scale back its capital spending and reduce its workforce. But copper prices have since recovered.

According to a study by the Western Economic Analysis Center, the copper industry has a $10.4 billion direct and indirect impact on the Arizona economy in 2008.