What does mining look like in the Arrowhead?
1854 Treaty and the general lay out of the Duluth Complex
Areas Under Consideration for 2009 Sale Includes Land in Fairbanks and Ault
Township Map of St. Louis County See corresponding townships to verify Fairbanks and Ault inclusion
Voyageur Sentinel Making decisons about Polymet
Specific parcels
Metallic minerals lease sale
Notice of Intent to Hold State Metallic Minerals Lease Sale
State Lands to be Offered for Metallic Minerals Exploration
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announces that plans are being developed to hold the state's 30th sale of metallic minerals exploration and mining leases. The sale is tentatively scheduled for January of 2009. The lease sale plans are being announced at this time in order to give mining companies, public interest groups and all other interested parties additional time to review the areas under consideration.
The purpose of Minnesota's metallic minerals rules (Minnesota Rules, parts 6125.0100 - .0700) is to promote and regulate the exploration for, mining and removal of metallic minerals on state-owned and state-administered lands. These rules, and the leases issued under these rules, authorize exploration and development of these minerals and impose certain requirements on the lessee. The requirements include: the payment of rentals that increase with the passage of time, the payment of royalty for all ore mined and removed, the submission of data and other reports, and the addressing of environmental considerations. In addition, the state lessee must comply with all applicable regulatory laws.
The areas under consideration for the lease sale cover portions of Beltrami, Koochiching, Lake, Lake of the Woods, Roseau and Saint Louis Counties. The lands being considered have been offered in previous metallic minerals lease sales, but based upon the interest shown by industry, new geologic data, and exploration techniques developed during the past few years, it is felt that within these lands there is potential for the discovery of mineral resources.
The exact time and place of the lease sale will be announced by legal notice at least thirty (30) days prior to the sale. Mining unit books, listing the state lands to be offered at the lease sale, will be available for inspection or purchase at that time.
A map  showing the general areas under consideration may be obtained from the Division of Lands and Minerals, Box 45, 500 Lafayette Road, Saint Paul, MN 55155-4045, telephone 651-259-5959.
Note: The Division of Lands and Minerals office in Hibbing has maps and reports on Minnesota's mineral resources, as well as drill core and exploration reports available for inspection. To arrange for a time to visit the Hibbing office, please contact Rick Ruhanen at (218) 231-8469. We also recommend our public access to minerals data web site: http://minarchive.dnr.state.mn.us/.
If you have any questions about the lease sale, please contact Kathy A. Lewis at 651-259-5404 or kathy.lewis@state.mn.us
http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/articles/index.cfm?id=13459§ion=news&freebie_check&CFID=77699111&CFTOKEN=30026865&jsessionid=8830c94478493b25e276
New Iron Range mining industry faces old conflicts
Don Davis Bemidji Pioneer
Published Saturday, January 26, 2008
ST. PAUL — A blossoming new mining industry in northern Minnesota faces a conflict that earlier versions of the industry still fight — preserving the environment vs. creating jobs.
One of the major problems environmentalists fear is acid leaking from mines that produce metals such as copper and nickel, two metals several companies want to mine.
If soil conditions are wet, “you might have a problem,” David Chambers of the Montana-based Center for Science in Public Participation told Minnesota lawmakers Friday.
And if the state government does not take proper precautions, taxpayers could end up footing the bill years down the road when the mines close, he added.
However, officials of the company closest to opening one of the new-generation mines assured legislators that their company is making sure there are no problems with acid or other pollutants.
“We are very concerned about how to do this project and how to do it right,” said Joe Scipioni, chief operating officer of PolyMet Mining.
Experts debated the issue five hours Friday afternoon as state lawmakers consider how to deal with mines producing copper, nickel and other precious metals.
Members of the four committees that met in a packed committee room took no action, but Sen. Ellen Anderson, DFL-St. Paul, said she expected to see some bills to regulate the mines once the Legislature convenes Feb. 12.
State officials estimate that more than 4 billion tons of nickel, cobalt, copper, platinum, palladium, gold, silver and other metals lie under northeast Minnesota’s Iron Range. That is the same area where taconite, used to make steel, long as been mined.
Six firms are looking into mining the precious metals. PolyMet is the furthest along, but still is early in its efforts to gain the range of permits needed to begin mining.
Scipioni, a third-generation Minnesota miner, said once those permits are granted, PolyMet would begin rehabilitating the closed LTV taconite mine facilities near Babbitt. He said the rehabilitation and new construction would cost $380 million over two years.
Once PolyMet opens, Scipioni added, it would employ more than 400 workers, with a $40 million annual payroll. He estimated the operation would create more than 500 jobs in related businesses, pumping $242 million into St. Louis County’s economy. State and local governments would receive $23 million in taxes.
The Untied States needs nickel and copper, MinnesotaMining’s Frank Ongaro said. “Our country is essentially import-dependent on these metals.”
While the PolyMet mine would be open pit, Bill Bryce of Franconia Minerals said his would be an underground operation. Ongaro said Franconia is more than a year behind PolyMet in the permitting process.
Legislators must decide whether they want to get involved in the environmental debate. Chambers said they should. But he also said too many regulations affect a mine’s bottom line.
“There is some risk that has to be worked through,” Chambers said. “The more you lower the risk to the public, the more mining costs.”
Another Montanan, professor Tom Power, said Iron Range metal mining has been examined for years. But every time copper prices rise, for instance, there is a quick drop in its value, which makes profitable mining difficult.
“We can’t count on stable, high copper prices going forward,” Power said.
He urged the Iron Range to diversify. He said new mines will not get back all 11,000 jobs miners lost in recent years.
Babbitt City Administrator Pete Pastika said there remains a lot of taconite and metal in and near his city.
“When the starship Enterprise flies, there still will be taconite in Babbitt,” he said.
Don Davis works for Forum Communications Co., which owns the Bemidji Pioneer.
http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=65063§ion=News
MINNESOTA: Environmentalists fear acid will leak from proposed copper, nickel mines
By Don Davis, State Capitol Bureau
Published Saturday, January 26, 2008
http://www.virginiamn.com/mdn/?section_id=70&story_id=211933
Mining views air at hearing
Non-ferrous projects' economic effects take center stage
Bill Hanna
Last updated: Friday, January 25th, 2008 10:49:55 PM
ST. PAUL — Mining in Minnesota was center stage for more than five hours at a joint hearing of four legislative committees in St. Paul Friday.
When testimony from 17 witnesses and the questioning of them by lawmakers was finished, the views of strong supporters and opponents of new copper-nickel and precious-metals projects were certainly not swayed. But several others who wanted to learn more about the PolyMet, Franconia Minerals and Duluth Metals non-ferrous ventures and their potential environmental and economic impacts on the Iron Range walked away with a lot more information on the issues.
And they also had for their consideration letters of strong support for the projects from both Minnesota U.S. senators, Democrat Amy Klobuchar and Republican Norm Coleman, along with 8th Dist. U.S. Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn.
“This was a good hearing. I think it was a good education for a lot of people on these projects and also the overall impact for the state of Minnesota on mining in general,’’ said state Rep. Tom Rukavina, DFL-Virginia. Rukavina chaired more than two hours of the session that focused mostly on specifics of the projects, including state regulation requirements, economic impacts to the state and Range, and product demand for copper and nickel, platinum, palladium and cobalt minerals.
Overviews of the three projects that would be sited near Hoyt Lakes and Babbitt were given.
The hearing was a joint one of four legislative committees: The House Environment and Natural Resources Finance Division; the Senate Environment Energy and Natural Resources Budget Division; the House Higher Education and Workforce Development Policy and Finance Division; and the Senate Economic Development Budget Division. Hearing co-chairs were Rukavina and DFL state Sen. Ellen Anderson of the Twin Cities.
While the initial focus was the possible impact of non-ferrous mining in Minnesota, it included testimony that broadened out to the overall history and future of all mining in the area. Lawmakers of the four committees also heard plenty of testimony of the impact that mining has had on post-secondary education in Minnesota.
Of the $2.7 billion of endowments at the University of Minnesota, one third — $920 million — comes from mining activity on the Iron Range, said Dr. Peter Zetterberg of the University of Minnesota. “I don’t know much about mining, but I do know what it means to the University of Minnesota,’’ he said. Zetterberg also talked about Iron Range scholarships of $1,000 or more that annually go to 20 percent of incoming freshmen in the university system.
Bob Bratulich of the United Steelworkers Union also endorsed the non-ferrous projects, although not “unequivocally.’’
He said the Steelworkers hope to get some union jobs from the new projects. “The new projects and employment are a great opportunity for the area. But we, just like others, have concern about the watersheds because of drainage.’’
He said financial assurances from the companies are needed so “that the water will be as clean as when it was taken out.’’
Joe Scipioni, PolyMet CEO, and from a third-generation mining family on the Range, was part of the last group to testify and offered an open invitation to anyone to travel to the Iron Range to see the project that is now in its final stages of developing an environmental impact statement.
“There are a lot of folks who testified today who haven’t been up to see it,’’ he said of the $380 million PolyMet project that would provide more than 400 permanent jobs, 250 construction jobs and 500 spin-off jobs. In addition, he said, the project is recycling much of the former LTV mining site near Hoyt Lakes.
The hearing began on quite a different note. Dr. Tom Power, an emeritus professor at the University of Montana, gave a summary of his report that questions continued mining to the Iron Range economy. The report was supported by two environmental groups, the Sierra Club and the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy.
Power said the economic rollercoaster of mining areas is not good for the long-term health of a region. “Usually you have economically depressed communities,’’ he said.
He also said that the 470 or so jobs from the PolyMet project would be small compared to the 11,000 taconite mining jobs lost since the 1980s.
But Dr. Richard Lichty, a former University of Minnesota Duluth professor, quickly countered those arguments.
“Just because an area is diversifying and technology has cut into jobs in a certain sector as in mining, that should not be reason to not pursue good-paying mining jobs,’’ he said.
And Babbitt City Administrator Pete Pastika said Power’s logic was flawed. He said there are hundreds of years of resources left to be mined on the Iron Range. “When the starship Enterprise flies, there will still be mining in Babbitt,’’ he said.
o
Bill Hanna can be reached at bill.hanna@mx3.com. To read this story online and comment on it go to www.virginiamn.com.
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/01/24/gold/
Larger view
A short drive on the Iron Range reveals the legacy of more than a century of iron mining. This mining rock waste pile rises over the horizon next to Highway 169 east of Chisholm (MPR Photo)
Lawmakers to weigh mining jobs against sulfuric acid
by Bob Kelleher, Minnesota Public Radio
January 25, 2008
Listen to feature audio
Minnesota's prospects for expanding the mining industry get a hearing before state lawmakers Friday afternoon. Legislators will weigh the benefits of large scale mining for gold and other metals against predictions of dire environmental consequences.
St. Paul, Minn. — Plans are underway to mine metals like copper and nickel in northeast Minnesota. Those efforts will take center stage at the hearing.
Opponents worry about long term environmental damages, such as acid leaching from old mine sites and waste piles.
DFL Representative Jean Wagenius of Minneapolis will co-chair the hearing. She said she wants to hear how the state holds mining companies accountable for potential environmental damages.
"We want to make sure that there's money in the bank if a company goes bankrupt and leaves the state with a mess - and leaves taxpayers with a mess," Wagenius said.
That could be vital if critic's worse fears about non-ferrous mining play true. Gold and copper mines have created long term pollution nightmares in western states and Canada.
This meeting shouldn't have even taken place.
- Rep. Tom Rukavina, DFL-Virginia
Wagenius said her concerns come from bitter experience.
"Actually it comes out of my work on closed landfills. The state has spent, I believe, $199 million cleaning up closed landfills. So we want to make sure that that pattern does not repeat," she said.
Some of the strongest criticism is expected from Tom Power with the University of Montana. He co-authored a report on mining's economics for two environmental groups. Power said mining's impact on Minnesota's economy was generally overstated.
The leading proposal from Vancouver, Canada-based PolyMet Mining could create 470 direct jobs. That would be about 10 percent of Minnesota's mining workforce. Even if all the new proposals come to life, Power said total mining employment would be only a blip in the state economy.
"Even within these three Iron Range counties, the contribution it's never going to bring back the employment levels that we saw at the beginning of the '80s, and certainly the employment levels that we saw in the '40s or '50s," he said.
Power said that small impact has to be weighed against the social costs of downturns in the volatile mining industry and potential environmental damage.
Mining for these kinds of metals is a big concern for groups such as the Sierra Club, the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy and others. It is often called sulfuric mining, because the target metals are found in ore that also holds sulfur. Exposure to air and water can produce sulfuric acids that can leach out. Acid drainage is a huge problem at abandoned mines in western states and Canada.
But proponents say that doesn't have to happen, and the mining can provide important metals and jobs.
DFL Senator Ellen Anderson of St. Paul co-chairs the hearing. Anderson said she expects a fair airing of the issues.
"I want to hear from both sides. I mean, I want to hear from the environmental community how they think we can provide the metals that we need for our cell phones and our computers, in an environmentally sustainable way," Anderson said.
"And I want to hear from the mining industry how they can provide those metals for us in an environmentally sustainable way. And, I hope that there's a win-win, where we can provide support for an industry, but an industry that supports our environment and supports our taxpayers," she said.
Not everyone welcomed the hearing. Rep. Tom Rukavina, DFL-Virginia, helped expand today's presentations to include testimony on the benefits of mining.
"This meeting shouldn't have even taken place," Rukavina said. "You know, it was nothing but a dog and pony show as far as I'm concerned. But the fact of the matter is that it is taking place and we wanted a fair hearing where there's both sides being presented."
Rukavina said the state's watchdog agencies already have the tools to make sure the new mining doesn't leave a dangerous acidic legacy. They can force the companies to put up cash for cleanup should the mining companies go belly up.
"If those folks had done their homework they'd see that these laws are already being implemented by rule by both the Pollution Control Agency and the Department of Natural Resources," Rukavina said. This is a whole new concept with whole new regulations that are already in place."
The hearing at the Capitol begins at 12:30.
Broadcast Dates
* Morning Edition, 01/25/2008, 7:25 a.m.
To Listen
http://www.businessnorth.com/pr.asp?RID=2613
Almanac On Demand
January 25th 2008
Current Almanac programs are no longer available in RealVideo format. Almanac video requires a broadband connection of at least 256kbs (DSL)
A New Type Of Mining On the Range
We sit in on Friday's hearing at the capitol about the promise and dangers of non-iron mining in Northern Minnesota. Our Mary Lahammer brings us the latest.
KSTP-TV, LLC To Listen
http://kstp.com/article/stories/S326984.shtml
Minn. lawmakers discuss controversial mining plan
New copper and nickel mining on Minnesota’s Iron Range promises to bring in more than $1 million and hundreds of jobs to the state, but precious metal mining can produce sulfuric acid, which can cause environmental damage.
Lawmakers want assurance that new mining will be safe.
"There's not a good track record. We don't have much trust in the industry. There are a lot of financial incentives to walk away from problems," said Clyde Hanson of the Sierra Club.
Canada-based Polymet Mining already bought a mine near Babbitt, Minn., and has requested permits to begin operations by the end of this year.
http://www.startribune.com/business/14445061.html
Foes spar at Capitol on mining projects
Plans for Iron Range nickel and copper mines drew support from cities and firms, and objections from environmentalists.
By DEE DePASS, Star Tribune
Last update: January 25, 2008 - 10:33 PM
The risks associated with permitting an array of copper and nickel mining projects targeted for northern Minnesota got a lengthy hearing at the State Capitol on Friday.
The timing is critical.
PolyMet Mining, which bought the old LTV taconite mine in Hoyt Lakes, hopes to gain permits and begin mining early next year. Duluth Metals just announced this week that it has one of the richest copper and nickel depositories in the world along the Duluth Complex near Ely. Franconia Minerals is also in the midst of copper exploration.
The projects are controversial. They represent a potential windfall for the state with thousands of new jobs for the beleaguered Iron Range, more than $1 billion in royalties, taxes and educational funding, and more than $500 million in capital investments. However, environmentalists argued that copper and nickel mining hold significant risk to the environment and taxpayers.
Scores of geologists, environmentalists, professors, state officials and mining experts testified Friday before the joint hearing and a room packed with spectators.
Sen. Ellen Anderson of St. Paul and Rep. Tom Rukavina of Virginia, the DFLers who cochaired the hearing, said the information session would help the politicians learn more about the risks and rewards of copper mining, which is a first for Minnesota, and nickel mining, which will be a first for the nation.
Officials from the Sierra Club, Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy and the Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness warned that waste-rock tailings from copper mines could leach sulfuric acid into rivers, streams and ground water.
PolyMet Chief Operating Officer Joe Scipioni and environmental head LaTisha Gietzen told legislators that they are well aware of the environmental concerns and plan to get their $380 million project right. Crushed rock tailings will have liners under them and covers over them to prevent sulfuric acid runoff. Canada-based PolyMet also plans to recycle all water used in the mining, crushing and metal extraction to try to keep the ground safe.
Clyde Hanson was not persuaded. The Sierra Club official brought a poster-sized aerial photo of PolyMet's proposed mining site to the hearing and pointed to a large body of water surrounded by acres of trees. "This is where the mine will be," he said. While PolyMet's protective actions work in the short term, what will happen when the mine eventually shuts down? he asked. Linings and covers for the crushed tailings need to be replaced at least every 50 years to prevent seepage into lakes streams and rivers.
David Chambers of the Center for Science in Public Participation told legislators that most mines end up having some form of seepage problem. He said there are dangers to sulfuric "acid mine drainage" because it raises mercury levels in fish and exposes people to mercury, lead, arsenic and more.
Thomas Power of the University of Montana downplayed any economic bonanza such projects might bear, noting that mining towns are never known to be prosperous for long because of the severe boom-and-bust cycles associated with the industry. "This is the roller coaster that often is mining," he said. "The problem is not just the instability of mining, it's the overreliance on mining" that threatened communities in Montana and the Iron Range in the past.
Pete Pastika, city administrator for Babbitt, testified that such sentiments were "lies, damned lies and statistics." The idea that the mining alone dampened Iron Range employment was "flawed logic" he said, because it didn't take into account technology and equipment improvements over time. He insisted that mining can exist without harming the environment, saying it just takes careful planning and money to make projects safe.
Dee DePass • 612-673-7725
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/19756/4183_1
Minnesota Mining Proposal Drawing Flack
St. Paul, MN – State lawmakers will hold a hearing today to consider bids by two Canadian companies to mine for precious metals in Minnesota, and the request for permits is drawing opposition. Clyde Hanson with the Sierra Club says it wouldn’t be a “traditional” mining operation.
“It’s mining for copper or nickel in sulfide rock, and it’s quite risky. It’s not like taconite mining that Minnesotans might be more familiar with.”
He says it’s much more dangerous to the environment because, once exposed to air and water, the rock produces sulfuric acid that can drain into rivers, lakes and ground water. He says it can also kill wildlife.
Hanson says metallic sulfide mining has never been done in Minnesota, and it comes with a price.
“The toxic metals and the acids kill those small critters in our lakes and streams that fish need to survive. They would also make the streams too dirty to be used in industrial purposes. They also speed up the release of mercury in the fish tissues, so the walleye we eat would be less safe.”
Hanson says there are about five proposed mining sites between Hoyt Lake and Ely, near the Boundary Waters, but all Minnesotans have a stake in the outcome.
“This mining country is certainly in places we all love to visit and enjoy. The wildlife, the waters, belong to everyone. They’re our shared assets as citizens, and we’re all on the hook for the cleanup costs if these companies go bankrupt and the assurance bonds are not significant enough to cover these long-term expenses. I mean, long, long term. Like generations and generations of people having to treat water, drill wells, pump it out, clean it, and put it back. The cleanup costs can be boggling.”
Hanson says the economic impact of the project would be minimal – the area is moving away from reliance on mining jobs and working to diversify its job market.
Jim Wishner/Craig Eicher, Public News Service - MN
http://www.businessnorth.com/pr.asp?RID=2613
Bloomquist hired as Iron Range Resources information officer
Iron Range Resources
1/25/2008
Lee Bloomquist has been hired by Iron Range Resources as an information officer.
Bloomquist will be responsible for planning and developing internal and external communication materials, and advising agency leadership on media-related issues. He will assume his duties at the agency on February 4, 2008.
"We are excited to have Lee join our team," said Iron Range Resources Commissioner Sandy Layman. "He has been a knowledgeable observer and reporter covering the Iron Range for over thirty years and is respected by those with whom he has worked."
Iron Range Resources is an Eveleth, Minnesota based state agency whose mission is to advance regional growth by stabilizing and enhancing the economy of northeastern Minnesota's Taconite Assistance Area.
Bloomquist is an Iron Range native. He was born in Virginia, Minnesota, and in 1969 graduated from Roosevelt High School in Virginia. In 1973, he graduated from Moorhead State College in Moorhead, Minnesota with a Bachelor of Science degree in mass communications.
Bloomquist most recently worked as the Iron Range reporter for the Duluth News Tribune, Duluth, Minnesota. Previously, he worked as Iron Range editor and assistant editor for the Hibbing Daily Tribune, Hibbing, Minnesota, and as staff photographer and reporter for the Mesabi Daily News, Virginia, Minnesota. He also has been a steelworker and metallurgical technician at U.S. Steel's Minntac
Mine in Mountain Iron.
Bloomquist and his wife Kathryn reside in Iron, Minnesota, and have two adult daughters.
http://timberjay.com/current.php?article=4044
Saturday, January 26, 2001908
Comments sought on major land exchange
By Marshall Helmberger
The US Forest Service is seeking public comments on a proposed land exchange involving 30 cabin lease lots on the South Kawishiwi River, near Ely.
The Forest Service is proposing to exchange 424.6 acres of public land, that is currently occupied by the privately-owned summer cabins, for a total of 1,254 acres across three separate parcels within the boundaries of the Superior National Forest.
Among the parcels the Forest Service would obtain in the swap is land on the Vermilion Gorge, south of Crane Lake, as well as undeveloped shoreline on the South Kawishiwi River, adjacent to the BWCAW. The agency would also receive several forested parcels east of Hoyt Lakes.
The land exchange was initiated by the cabin owners back in 1999, but the group did not control sufficient property at that time to complete a full exchange. The group, operating under a limited liability partnership, obtained enough property last year to move forward with the exchange process, according to Peter Taylor, who is overseeing the exchange for the US Forest Service.
The public comment is sought as part of the Forest Service’s scoping of its planned environmental analysis of the impacts of the exchange. The Forest Service plans to maintain existing uses on the land that it acquires, including the trail at the Vermilion Gorge, trails, a campsite, and a snowmobile bridge on the Kawishiwi River and an existing powerline right of way on the property near Hoyt Lakes. No new development is proposed by the Forest Service as a result of the exchange.
If you are interested in seeing a copy of this scoping package and finding out how to comment, you will find the entire package in the “Projects and Plans” section of the Superior National Forest website at itewww.fs.fed.us/ r9/superior/ , or you may pick up a hard copy at the Forest Headquarters in Duluth or at the Kawishiwi Ranger District office, in Ely.
|
