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FAQ: Everything you need to know about PolyMet – by Elizabeth Dunbar and Dan Kraker (Minnesota Public Radio – December 2, 2013)

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/features/

What is PolyMet proposing?

PolyMet wants to mine copper, nickel and precious metals for 20 years at a site located just north of Hoyt Lakes in the Superior National Forest. The NorthMet Deposit is part of what is known as the Duluth Complex, which stretches from about 150 miles north of Duluth all the way to the Canadian border. PolyMet would build three open pits and blast and drill to get to the ore containing minerals. Ore would be put in rail cars and shipped seven miles west to an old iron ore processing plant — LTV Steel — which closed in 2001. PolyMet is repurposing the facility to process up to 32,000 tons of copper and nickel per day.

How significant are the deposits?

The Duluth Complex is considered one of the biggest copper-nickel deposits in the world. PolyMet’s mine would tap into just a small part of that, with the possibility of expanding later. PolyMet’s goal is to produce 72 million pounds of copper, 15 million pounds of nickel and 106,000 ounces of precious metals annually.

How does this proposal compare to other copper-nickel mines in the U.S.?

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Silver State, mining go deep – by Jennifer Robison (Las Vegas Review-Journal – December 1, 2013)

http://www.reviewjournal.com/

Editor’s Note: Nevada 150 is a yearlong series highlighting the people, places and things that make up the history of the Silver State.

Before there was Nevada, there was mining. In the state’s earliest days, mining wasn’t just our key industry. It was “essentially our only industry,” said Jeremy Aguero, a principal in local research firm Applied Analysis, and author of a September report for the Nevada Mining Association on the role of the sector in our economy.

“The mining industry was instrumental in the formation of the state and the governing laws that we still live with today,” Aguero said. “It was, for the vast majority of the history of the state, its largest single employer, and that’s still true in many rural counties today. We are the Silver State in so many ways. Our mining legacy is everywhere in Nevada, and our economic landscape clearly reflects its long history here.”

Added Tim Crowley, president of the Nevada Mining Association: “We really founded the state.”

That’s tough to argue. Mining’s rich history here traces back to 1859, half a decade before statehood.

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Mine to inject $4 billion locally [Michigan Upper Peninsula] – by John Pepin (The Mining Journal – December 1, 2013)

http://www.miningjournal.net/

HUMBOLDT – A recent in-house economic report projects the Eagle Mine and Humboldt Mill will directly and indirectly inject a total of $4 billion into the Marquette County economy over a 15-year period.

From 2011 through 2025, the Eagle Mine project -which includes the underground nickel and copper mine in Michigamme Township and the Humboldt Mill processing center in Humboldt Township- is expected to have a total positive economic impact of $4.3 billion on Michigan.

In addition to the $4 billion projected to impact Marquette County, $10 million will benefit Baraga County, $179 million for the rest of the Upper Peninsula and $169 million for the Lower Peninsula. “Marquette County’s economy is expected to be nearly 20 percent greater by 2016 when Eagle Mine’s economic contribution peaks than it otherwise would have been without Eagle Mine,” the report stated.

In addition to the economic forecasting, the “Eagle Mine: Economic Impact Assessment” report -which was produced by former project owner Rio Tinto and released Oct. 17 by new owner, the Toronto-based Lundin Mining Corp.- also provides information on employment, purchase of goods and services, government revenue and risks.

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Pebble problems reveal issue facing U.S. mining investment – by Rebecca Logan (Fairbanks Daily News Miner – November 24, 2013)

http://www.newsminer.com/

Anglo American’s recent departure from the Pebble Mine project has generated contentious debate throughout the state and in our nation’s capital about the future of domestic mining. This withdrawal of capital from a promising venture is just one among many in recent years, as the United States’ uncertain regulatory structure around minerals mining deters major investment. It’s a hard pill to swallow considering that our nation’s $6.2 trillion worth of mineral resources could be developed responsibly, generate economic growth, support new high-paying jobs and strengthen domestic industries.

The proof is in the pudding — just look at the more than 9,500 Alaskan jobs the mining industry supported last year alone. These jobs are among the highest paying in the state with an estimated average annual salary of $100,000 — more than twice the state average. Mining not only creates jobs at mine sites, but also supports local businesses, generating employment at grocery and supply stores, auto dealerships and hotels.

Beyond Alaska, mining continues to bring economic opportunity to communities across the country despite trying economic conditions. Mining supported nearly 2.2 million American jobs and contributed $232 billion to the nation’s GDP in 2011 alone.

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Northern Dynasty CEO says Pebble has bright future, but no imminent permit application – by Yereth Rosen (Alaska Dispatch – November 21, 2013)

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/

When the president of the sole remaining partner in the beleaguered Pebble Limited Partnership launched into a sales pitch on Thursday for the huge and controversial copper mine planned for southwestern Alaska’s Bristol Bay region, he acknowledged the “elephant in the room.”

Everyone wants to know what will happen to the project now that mining giant Anglo American has dropped out of the partnership, said Ron Thiessen, president and chief executive of Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd., the Vancouver-based junior company still pushing the Pebble Mine.

“It’s the day after Anglo. What’s next?” Thiessen, a keynote speaker at the Resource Development Council’s annual conference in Anchorage, said in his speech.

Northern Dynasty will keep pushing for the mine, he assured the audience. “We have the resources and the expertise and the will to advance Pebble or without a partner and that is what we intend and will do,” he said.

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Who’s investing in copper-nickel mining on the Range? – by Trisha Volpe (Kare 11 News.com – November 21, 2013)

http://www.kare11.com/default.aspx [Minneapolis-St. Paul]

NEW ORLEANS — As the autumn sun starts to peek over the horizon, a blazing mix of orange, yellow and red, Pete Gerica starts up his fishing boat as he’s done nearly every morning for decades. Gerica’s fishing roots run as deep as the water off the Louisiana coast. A good catch is his southern comfort.

“I’ve been actually on this water here for the better part of 55 years,” Gerica says about the Bayou Sauvage, which is located just east of New Orleans. “It’s kind of like a gambler. You get an adrenaline rush when you make good.”

Gerica is a 4th generation shrimper, an industry as important to the Gulf Coast as oil production in the nearby Gulf of Mexico. He brought KARE 11 trawling in the bayou, but the catch isn’t what it used to be.

“That’s nowhere near enough and nowhere near the right size,” Gerica says after he pulls up a test net and measures the few shrimp he caught.

Gerica and his family barely survived Hurricane Katrina and then the next disaster hit. In 2010, 11 people were killed when an off shore BP oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. Millions of barrels of oil poured into the Gulf for weeks.

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Copper nickel mining debate divides Range – by Trisha Volpe (Kare 11 News.com – November 21, 2013)

 http://www.kare11.com/default.aspx [Minneapolis-St. Paul]

HOYT LAKES, Minn. – A major proposed mining project on Minnesota’s Iron Range has nothing to do with iron ore, but could still hold the key to the region’s economic future or lead to its environmental destruction, depending on who you ask.

There is no doubt that the possibility of mining for copper, nickel and other precious metals in an area with a tradition of mining, as well as a tradition of impeccable cleanliness and beauty, has been contentious. The new debate is ramping up as a company that could be the first to mine for copper and nickel in Minnesota moves further along in the regulatory process.

The deposit of copper, nickel and other precious metals like platinum, palladium and gold is one of the world’s largest. It’s called the Duluth Complex and stretches approximately 150 miles from Duluth to the Canadian border.

The Duluth complex was discovered decades ago, but because of the geologic make-up of the deposit, only more recently has technology been developed to mine the ore efficiently. Geologists say the Duluth complex contains billions of tons of ore potentially worth trillions of dollars. Many companies have staked a claim in the rich mineral deposit.

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Two miners dead in Colorado, 20 others injured after Ouray blast – by Joey Bunch and Tom McGhee (Denver Post – November 17, 2013)

http://www.denverpost.com/

The two miners who were killed Sunday in Ouray died from carbon monoxide poisoning, authorities said. An explosion was ruled out as the immediate cause of the incident that sent 20 other miners to Western Slope hospitals.

The source of the poisonous gas, however, is under investigation. At a press conference Sunday night authorities said they were are looking at whether a small explosion in the mining process on Saturday might have been the source of the carbon monoxide.

The miners who were killed were identified as 34-year-old Nick Cappano of Montrose and Rick Williams, 59, of Durango. The other miners were expected to be OK, said Rory Williams, the operations manager for Denver-based Star Mine LLC.

“I knew both of these individuals personally,” said Williams, who said he is no relation to Rick Williams. “They were hard-working men. They were great men. They will be remembered indeed.” Williams said all of the men are required to wear personal respirators and the two who died had them. “As far as we can tell it doesn’t appear to be an equipment malfunction,” he said.

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Anaconda Co. dominated state economy: With top industrial wages, workers could buy homes, pay for children’s college – by Peter Johnson (Great Falls Tribune – November 16, 2013)

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/ [Montana]

It would be hard to overestimate the economic importance that the Anaconda Co. played in Montana for decades, says retired University of Montana history professor David Emmons.

“It was the fourth-largest corporation in America, and it employed probably 25,000 to 30,000 Montanans at its peak” in copper mining, smelting and refining, railroad operations, logging and wood products and even operating four of the state’s five largest newspapers, he said.

“At one time probably one-third of the paychecks that went out in the state were written on Anaconda Co. accounts,” he said. “The company’s significance in Montana was enormous. I don’t know of any other state where a single company was that dominate economically.”

The Anaconda Co. and its predecessor, Amalgamated Copper Mining Co., produced a huge amount of copper in Montana — 3 billion pounds between 1880 and 1980, Emmons said.

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Miners say Anglo American departure casts pall on all of Alaska industry – by Yereth Rosen (Alaska Dispatch – November 10, 2013)

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/

When Mike Heatwole, vice president of corporate communications for the Pebble Limited Partnership, gave a status report of the controversial and beleaguered Pebble project to a friendly audience in Anchorage Thursday afternoon, he laced his speech with sadness and resignation.

“What a difference a year makes. If you think about it, what a difference a few months makes,” Heatwole told attendees at the Alaska Miners Association convention.

Heatwole’s company would build one of the world’s largest open-pit copper mines in the headwaters of Alaska’s Bristol Bay. He closed his presentation with a slideshow of smiling workers, in the company’s Anchorage office, in the field and elsewhere. All were laid off after Anglo American, the moneyed partner in the project, announced in September that it was abandoning Pebble and its investment in it.

The Pebble partners had planned to submit a formal mine plan by the end of the year, kicking off permitting applications, he said. Now, with Vancouver-based Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd as the only remaining partner, that timetable is unclear.

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Mine Tales: Copper isn’t the only mineral common in Arizona – by William Ascarza (Arizona Daily Star – November 4, 2013)

http://azstarnet.com/

In 2012, Arizona produced more than $2 billion in nonfuel mineral commodities. While Arizona leads the nation in copper production, additional minerals ranked according to value include molybdenum concentrates, sand and gravel (construction), cement (portland) and silver.

Industrial minerals found in Arizona include sand, gravel, limestone, clay, marble, gypsum, asbestos, perlite, talc, zeolites and landscape rock.

Industrial minerals mined in Arizona such as sand and gravel produced from flood plains, washes and alluvial fans are used in the construction of highways, airports, buildings, dams and bridges.

Gravel and aggregate (a combination of rocks and sand used in the manufacture of concrete) are the most common industrial minerals in Arizona. One hundred tons of sand and gravel are needed in the construction of a standard 1,600-square-foot house.

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Klobuchar, Franken co-sponsor ‘critical minerals’ bill in Senate – by John Myers (Duluth News Tribune – October 31, 2013)

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken joined 15 of their colleagues Tuesday introducing legislation to encourage mining of “critical minerals” across the U.S.

The Minnesota Democrats joined senators on both sides of the aisle, all from mining states, on the bill called the “Critical Minerals policy Act of 2013.”

The Senate bill requires the Interior Secretary to maintain a list of 20 minerals and elements designated as critical to the nation. It would amend the National Materials and Minerals Policy, Research and Development Act of 1980 to establish a method of tracking and forecasting the nation’s “critical mineral demand, supply and other market dynamics” to allow “informed actions to be taken to avoid supply shortages, mitigate price volatility and prepare for demand growth and other market shifts.”

The 40-page bill stops short of identifying what specific critical minerals might be. Klobuchar said her support comes from doing what is best for the state and country regarding the mineral supply.

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Having a [mining] blast – by Kelly Grinsteinner (Hibbing Daily Tribune – October 30, 2013)

http://www.hibbingmn.com/

EVELETH — Do not call mine blasting an art. Mike Indihar will tell you that it’s not, and give you several reasons why.
“The public thinks that what we do today is the same way we did it 30 years ago, but that’s not true,” said Indihar, senior mine engineer at Cliffs Natural Resources’ United Taconite in Eveleth. “It is so different today.”

And he’d know.

Indihar has been in the mining industry since 1979, and worked in various capacities within both operations and engineering. He’s been at United Taconite since 2006, and from that time on has focused solely on drilling and blasting.
The 56 year old calls himself a geek, and admits the job is still fun.

“I’m still challenged every day, and that’s what makes it exciting,” said Indihar. For those who like status quo, mining isn’t the ideal industry. “What’s really fun in engineering in mining is that it’s always changing,” he said. “You do a blast, and then it’s gone. Now you do a different one. You build a road, mine it down and then move on to build a new road. Things change all the time.”

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Duluth [nickel mining] Complex – by Charles Ramsay (Mesabi Daily News – October 31, 2013)

http://www.hibbingmn.com/

DULUTH — By any method that the Duluth Complex is rated, several experts say the nonferrous potential embedded in the geologic region makes it the largest mineral deposits ever.

The complex stretches from near Duluth northeast and north to near the Canadian border. Copper, nickel and precious metals group elements (platinum-palladium) are a major part of minerals in the complex. Two companies, PolyMet and Twin Metals, are preparing for production or getting near that goal after environmental review and permits are obtained. More companies are busy exploring other locations for deposits.

“I have no doubt this will prove to be the biggest undeveloped deposit,” said Jim Miller, a geology professor at the University of Minnesota Duluth.

Another researcher, George Hudak, minerals division director at the Natural Resources Research Institute in Duluth, agreed. “This is the largest untapped copper-nickel deposit in the world,” he said.

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‘Ghost Mine’: Portlander Patrick Doyle talks about Season 2 of Syfy series – by Kristi Turnquist (The Oregonian – September 4, 2013) [RepublicOfMining.com – Halloween Theme]

 

http://www.oregonlive.com/

Click here for Ghost Mine episodes: http://www.space.ca/GhostMine.aspx

When he’s confronted by skeptics who doubt the possibility of ghosts, Patrick Doyle has a ready response. “I’m very much a skeptic as well,” says Doyle, who is one of two paranormal investigators featured on the Syfy series, “Ghost Mine.”

“I think you have to be honest with yourself and be a skeptic to be in the paranormal field,” says the 42-year-old. “You’re always questioning.” But for those who scoff at the concept of paranormal activity, Doyle says this: “I’d ask them first, have you had something that happened to you, heard something, seen something, that you can’t explain?”

Doyle has, and it’s those experiences that led him to his fascination with eerie phenomena. He continues to pursue his passion in Season 2 of “Ghost Mine,” which premieres tonight on Syfy.

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