MINE IX: Mining is our Past, Present, Future
Mesabi Daily News
Opinion: Kurt Daudt
Minnesota has a long, rich history of mining.
Iron was discovered while miners were in pursuit of gold in the late 1860s. At the time, they did not know iron would become more valuable to northern Minnesota than gold or that our state would become the largest producer of iron ore and taconite in our nation.
Imagine if early Minnesotans ignored the discovery of iron ore on the Range. Mining is not just part of our past, but an important part of our present and future.
MINE IX: “One Range – One Voice”
Mesabi Daily News
Opinion: Steve Giorgi
Our community leaders need to work together as a region as we will be challenged again to do more with less. We need to take pride in our communities and make them inviting and welcoming to newbies who come to town, who may have a different outlook on life than us but are what we need to survive.
We need new blood, fresh ideas, new challenges to help us accept that life as we have known it for the past 100 years is going to change. Let’s work together to make it a change for the better.
Read more: http://www.virginiamn.com/mine/one-range-one-voice/article_00f639da-daa1-11e5-84d5-fbe66199bef8.html
MINE IX: PolyMet Ready to Go – “Dig, Baby, Dig!”
Mesabi Daily News
Opinion: Michael Thompson
Once [PolyMet] is operational, 360 direct mining jobs will be created having a payroll spending impact of $330 million per year. Don’t forget about the indirect jobs that this will create. Contractors doing maintenance of facilities, vendors and small businesses expanding or opening would create an additional estimated 630 jobs. The Labovitz School of Business at the University of Minnesota-Duluth economic impact study estimates a total of $515 million per year being pumped into the local economy.
Views from the mining industry
Duluth News Tribune
Opinion: Frank Ongaro
Is PolyMet a big deal?
“Polymet will be creating the same economic impact as having the Super Bowl in Northeastern Minnesota every year for 24 years. They estimate when the Super Bowl comes to Minnesota (in two years), it’s going to be a half-a-billion-dollar, a 500-million-dollar, benefit to the state of Minnesota. That’s what PolyMet is going to do, plus (more), each and every year for 24 years. Let’s start there. Let’s look at the economic opportunity and then let’s go from there.”
Read more: http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/opinion/local-view/3941902-views-mining-industry
Our view: We will survive this mining downturn, too
Duluth News Tribune
Editorial Board
“What a great opportunity for the entire state of Minnesota,” Frank Ongaro said of PolyMet. “You talk about this region, you talk about economic development, there’s no single better economic development opportunity for this region of the state than PolyMet Mining: 300-plus jobs for 20-plus years. That’s a generation. That’s not short-term. That’s not a small amount of jobs. Plus, (there’ll be) another 600-plus spin-off jobs, as determined by the University of Minnesota. We’re talking a thousand jobs for this region for a substantial number of decades, and we’re talking about great, great-paying jobs for this region. … It’s a tremendous opportunity for this region and for all the vendors and suppliers, and not just in Northeastern Minnesota and not just in Duluth but from all across the state.”