News - Jobs For Minnesotans

County board backs PolyMet

December 1, 2015

With county officials meeting on the struggling East Range, the mining project that holds hope for new jobs in the area gained another endorsement Tuesday.

St. Louis County commissioners passed a resolution without objection to submit comment to the state Department of Natural Resources supporting the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the PolyMet mine near Hoyt Lakes, marking the board’s first on-the-record support of the project.

Guest Column: Let’s Wrap Up PolyMet

November 10, 2015

Mesabi Daily News
Opinion: U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan

After 10 long years, the rigorous approval process for PolyMet’s NorthMet copper, nickel and other precious metals mining project has reached a major milestone: The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) was published this month in the Federal Register.

Having studied the details closely, and after numerous meetings with all the parties involved, I’m urging the co-lead agencies — the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Forest Service — to wrap things up so the project can be permitted and operational at the earliest possible date.

Views on PolyMet Final Environmental Impact Statement

November 9, 2015

Duluth News Tribune
Editorial Board

On Friday, the long-anticipated final environmental review of PolyMet’s proposed copper-nickel mine was released, detailing how the project can be accomplished while also protecting air quality, water purity and the environment.

The News Tribune already had opined that the release of the 3,000-page Final Environmental Impact Statement, a document that took more than 10 years to get right, marked a moment that could be “welcomed and embraced.”

A Long, Careful Process Toward Copper-Nickel Mine: Pioneer Press Editorial

November 7, 2015

Pioneer Press
Editorial Board

Minnesotans should appreciate the process that is purposefully working its way to a conclusion as the state decides whether to allow copper and nickel mining on the Iron Range.

After 10 years, it reached a landmark Friday when the state’s Department of Natural Resources issued the final environmental impact statement on the proposed PolyMet mine near Hoyt Lakes in northeastern Minnesota. If other steps proceed and the department approves of the 3,000-page document early next year, the company then could begin applying for the nearly two dozen permits it will need.

Our view: Embrace PolyMet’s milestone

November 3, 2015

Duluth News Tribune
Editorial Board

After more than 10 years of environmental review — and with the end of that process now imminent and the start of the permitting process poised to begin — northern Minnesota could be providing the copper and other precious metals the world needs before the end of next year. Importantly for northern Minnesota, that also means we soon could be basking in the benefit of hundreds of millions of dollars of long-promised economic impact from the industry.