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From pipelines to mines, Trumpism on the march
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order clearing the way for the controversial Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipeline projects. Both projects were stalled under President Obama out of environmental concerns. Citing the jobs the projects would create and promising American-made steel in the construction process, Trump waved his order in front of…
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On PolyMet and the price of hope
This week, the U.S. Forest Service announced the approval of a land swap with the PolyMet Mining Corporation. The government will release 6,650 acres of federal land in Northern Minnesota to PolyMet in exchange for 6,690 acres of non-federal lands. Essentially, PolyMet gains access to a large contiguous section of forested land located within its…
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Proposition 54, where are you?
Last Saturday, the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor party central committee voted down Proposition 54, a controversial resolution that would have placed the party in opposition to sulfide ore mining. Now, an aside. I earnestly considered whether or not to headline this post about a failed DFL resolution with pun that relates to a black-and-white TV comedy that aired before I was…
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Trusting the wolves, hastening our fate
May 25, 2000: The morning after LTV Steel announced it would close its Hoyt Lakes taconite plant, miners lined up outside the Workforce Center in Virginia, Minnesota. Each wanted to be first to submit a job application to another mine on the Mesabi Iron Range, none of which were hiring. Though employed to monitor youth…
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Louisiana Pacific eyes Cook for siding plant
During the 2016 legislative session, the prospect of a potential Louisiana-Pacific wood siding plant in Northern Minnesota drove the agenda of the Iron Range legislative delegation. The original concept made Hoyt Lakes the preferred site. A deal in the tax bill offered tax incentives, but the tax bill never became law. So the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board…
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Heat (and hustle) is on for big Range project
A $440 million wood siding plant on the Iron Range. More than 800 jobs. Economic diversification. It’s hard not to get excited about information like this. But, as usual, the big bluster requires closer inspection. For instance, how much of that $440 million will come from public sources? At least $40 million, according to this Bill…
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State luring wood product plant to Northern MN
A large publicly-traded company that makes wood siding is considering building a new plant in Northern Minnesota. According to reports from Minnesota Public Radio and the Associated Press, the plant would employ about 250 people. The company is considering sites near Hoyt Lakes, Cook and Grand Rapids, as well as sites in other states. From Brian Bakst…
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State approves PolyMet environmental review
Never has the word “adequate” been such a hot topic. Today, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced that the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed PolyMet mine near Hoyt Lakes was adequate. “The environmental review process is about describing the potential environmental effects of the proposed NorthMet project,” said DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr…
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Key PolyMet environmental report expected Thursday
On Thursday, March 3, state regulators will issue its ruling on the Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine near Hoyt Lakes. This will be the culmination of at least seven years of debate over the EIS. The controversy centers on whether the development company is accurately reflecting the environmental risk of this form of…
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Biochemical firm craps out on Range project
When Segetis, a Golden Valley, Minnesota, biochemical firm first proposed a $105 million project near Hoyt Lakes, it stoked some badly needed hope for the Iron Range. The Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board approved a $21.5 million loan package with little opposition. Science! Smart people in lab coats would help save the local economy.…
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Glencore loans $11 million to PolyMet
The global mining giant Glencore has loaned $11 million to Canadian development company PolyMet, owner and developer of a proposed copper-nickel-paladium mine in Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota. This according to a John Myers story in today’s Duluth News Tribune: With no source of income until its mine permits are approved and production can begin, the company…
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Is this the 1980s again on the Iron Range?
I grew up in the 1980s on a junkyard just a few miles south of Eveleth Taconite. Growing up on a junkyard is probably the best way to understand the things humans build, sell, use and discard. So let’s consider a new car. I’ve only ever bought one brand new car fresh off the lot. It…
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PolyMet EIS done, but project still faces hurdles
Last week the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources released the final Environmental Impact Statement for PolyMet, an important step in the company’s goal to open a new copper-nickel mine near Hoyt Lakes on the eastern Mesabi Iron Range. A milestone, yes, but certainly not the end of the story. Marshall Helmberger’s Timberjay offers a pretty good explanation…
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PolyMet EIS to be released today
Today at 12:30 p.m., the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will release its final 3,000-page Environmental Impact Statement for the controversial PolyMet copper nickel mine in Hoyt Lakes on the eastern Mesabi Iron Range. I expect the document will be posted here, at the project site on the DNR website. Dropping a document of this…
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IRRRB to discuss $26 million biochemical project in Mt. Iron
Friday, the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board will meet to discuss new projects and public works spending. A number of interesting items will be on the docket. Topping the list is a proposal to loan $18 million as part of a state and Iron Range package of $26 million to a company called Sweetwater Energy. Sweetwater is…