St. Paul, Minn. (Dec. 20, 2018) – Jobs for Minnesotans today released the following statement following the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) announcement of a public comment period regarding the Environmental Assessment on the renewal of Twin Metals mineral leases:

“Jobs for Minnesotans welcomes today’s BLM news announcing a comment period seeking public input on the environmental assessment of the renewal of Twin Metals mineral leases. This is a positive next step for Twin Metals after a rigorous and extensive review and public input process over the last two years on its mineral lease renewals. The renewal of the leases is just one of many important milestones that Twin Metals will work to achieve before entering the robust environmental review process required prior to any mining activity.

“We strongly support each step of the highly regulated process for mining projects to come to fruition including the timely renewal of Twin Metals leases following this process. This proceeding sets a strong precedent for future non-ferrous mining projects on how the federal government works with mining companies not just in Minnesota, but across the country. We are eager to see this process move forward for Twin Metals, as the leases are located within the world-class Duluth Complex mineral deposit in Northeastern Minnesota. The Duluth Complex is estimated to contain 4.4 billion tons of copper, nickel and other essential metals needed to support our country’s current and future infrastructure as well our nation’s efforts to move toward a cleaner energy economy. ”

About Jobs for Minnesotans
Jobs for Minnesotans, a coalition representing business, labor and communities, supports statewide opportunities for prosperity and middle-class jobs from sustainable natural resource development in Minnesota. The organization is committed to the principle that our state can preserve both job opportunities and the environment for future generations. Jobs for Minnesotans was co-founded in 2012 by the Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council representing 55,000 workers and the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce representing 2,300 companies and 500,000 employees. For more information, visit jobsforminnesotans.org, follow @JobsforMN on Twitter and find the coalition on Facebook.com/Jobs4MN.

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Media Contact: Nancy Norr, Chair
nnorr@mnpower.com
Cell: 218.590.6978