Mesabi Daily News
Opinion: Jim Hofsommer

Here’s a question to ponder: After going on 10 years and $80 million later, why doesn’t the PolyMet project we’ve been hearing so much about even have a permit yet? If things don’t speed up pretty soon, a whole generation of workers could have — and should have — been employed by this project will all be dead of old age.

Perhaps some of the warm, fuzzy responses given as testimony by a gaggle of Enrads (environmental radicals) at the recent hearings are an indication for these endless delays. This testimony — for, or against — was supposed to be a factual analysis of the latest Environmental Impact Statement was sufficient, but some of the comments bordered on the incredulous to downright comical.

For all these years we have heard repeated so many times the hundreds of good-paying jobs, the millions of hours of construction work and the lode of ore so abundant that it may be the largest deposit in the world, that many of us can repeat these statistics in our sleep. For many Rangers, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to provide a decent life and employment for hundreds of families, to keep our kids in the area, and to lower the unemployment rate of the Range — which has chronically been significantly higher than the rest of the state.

Read more: http://www.virginiamn.com/opinion/letters/article_597cf5cc-9c40-11e3-838f-0019bb2963f4.html

Hometown Focus
Jan Saxhaug

It’s no secret that mining is a critical industry to the economy of Northeastern Minnesota which is home to the Iron Range after all. Sitting atop vast deposits of iron ore and precious metals and strategically located near the Port of Duluth, the region has been able to develop the highly specialized infrastructure and workforce needed to take advantage of these rich natural resources.

Read more: http://www.hometownfocus.us/news/2014-02-21/Mining_Features/MINING_FOR_GROWTH.html

TPT Almanac

A Political Panel
Republicans Andy Brehm and Fritz Knaak sat on our couch alongside Democrats Javier Morillo-Alicea and Sarah Walker.

St. Paul, Minn. (Feb. 10, 2014) – On Tuesday, Feb. 11 in St. Paul, Minn., Jobs for Minnesotans, a business-labor partnership, will attend the Natural Resources and Agriculture Finance Committee hearing about financial assurance for proposed copper-nickel mining projects in Minnesota. Members of Jobs for Minnesotans will be joined by allies who support the strong financial assurance laws already in place in Minnesota and the process that will adequately address financial assurance during permitting.

Minnesota has the opportunity to prosper from the world-class deposit of precious metals in northeastern Minnesota and generate economic benefits for decades. The more than 55,000 union members and the 2,500 businesses that are part of Jobs for Minnesotans trust the process in place during the permitting phase of project development to ensure maintenance costs for the project after closure are funded appropriately.

“We have the strongest financial assurance laws in the country. These laws were developed in collaboration with environmental organizations and will ensure taxpayers have bankruptcy-proof protection. Taxpayers will not only be protected, but will see significant financial gains from PolyMet and other proposed copper-nickel mining projects,” said Harry Melander, Jobs for Minnesotans co-founder and president of the Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council.

“We’re confident that the multiple state and federal agencies currently managing the review of PolyMet’s SDEIS will regulate and protect Minnesota’s treasured natural environment and trust the DNR and our existing laws to address financial assurance as the project moves into permitting,” said David Olson, Jobs for Minnesotans co-founder and president of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce.

“We stand to gain hundreds of jobs from PolyMet in addition to two million construction hours before any ore is produced. Our members see this project as an economic opportunity that will sustain families long into the future. These laws are already on the books, so let’s keep this project moving and strengthen the economy,” added Melander.

###

Jobs for Minnesotans was co-founded in October 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. This coalition represents businesses, middle class workers, labor, local governments and other supporters of job creation in the state of Minnesota. Jobs for Minnesotans was created to educate and provide information about the direct and ancillary job creation that the strategic metals mining can produce for the state.

Media Contacts:
Harry Melander
612-865-3585
harstpbt@mtn.org

Nancy Norr
218.590.6978
nnorr@mnpower.com

St. Paul, Minn. (Jan. 16, 2013) – Today in Duluth, Jobs for Minnesotans, a business-labor partnership, will show its support for the PolyMet mining project and encourage the environmental review process to move forward in order to create hundreds of new jobs in the state. Attending the first of three public hearings about the copper-nickel mining project’s Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS), members of Jobs for Minnesotans praised the thorough and exhaustive environmental review done by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and other lead and cooperating agencies.

Minnesota is home to one of the largest copper-nickel deposits anywhere in the world and is poised to become one of the leading producers of minerals used in everything from smart phones to hybrid car batteries to wind turbines. Projects like PolyMet will result in high quality, good paying jobs for years to come, revitalizing significant portions of the Iron Range economy. The more than 55,000 union members and the 2,500 businesses that are part of Jobs for Minnesotans trust the DNR’s process and are eager to move to the mine permit phase.

“The DNR’s review has been lengthy and thorough. The SDEIS adequately takes into account potential impacts to the environment. Now it’s time we get this project moving forward so we can benefit from a world-class copper-nickel deposit that is right below our feet,” said Harry Melander, Jobs for Minnesotans co-founder and president of the Minnesota Building and Construction Trades Council.

“The PolyMet project alone could provide 360 full-time mining jobs once it becomes operational, in addition to two million construction hours before it even begins to mine ore,” said David Olson, Jobs for Minnesotans co-founder and president of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce.

“Our members see this project as an opportunity to breathe new life into Minnesota’s economy. In addition to hundreds of jobs, copper-nickel mining will provide millions of dollars in local and state taxes to support our communities and education system. Jobs from the project will provide families with a sustainable future and children with opportunities for good careers. The DNR has done its job, now let’s put Minnesotans to work,” added Melander.

###

Jobs for Minnesotans was co-founded in October 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. This coalition represents businesses, middle class workers, labor, local governments and other supporters of job creation in the state of Minnesota. Jobs for Minnesotans was created to educate and provide information about the direct and ancillary job creation that the strategic metals mining can produce for the state.

Media Contacts:
Harry Melander
612.865.3585
harstpbt@mtn.org

Nancy Norr
218.590.6978
nnorr@mnpower.com