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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Mineral leases latest mining pressure point

Marshall Helmberger
Posted 11/18/15

REGIONAL—An ongoing effort by Twin Metals to renew two federal minerals leases has become the latest pressure point over the prospect of copper-nickel and precious metals mining within the Superior …

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Mineral leases latest mining pressure point

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REGIONAL—An ongoing effort by Twin Metals to renew two federal minerals leases has become the latest pressure point over the prospect of copper-nickel and precious metals mining within the Superior National Forest. The company is also seeking to convert three existing prospecting permits into what are known as preference rights permits, which could eventually give the company the right to mine.

In all, the permits cover several thousand acres running roughly parallel to the South Kawishiwi River, southeast of Ely. Renewal of the permits, which expired at the end of 2013, is critical to Twin Metals’ plan to open its proposed mine.

While the leases have been renewed in the past, with little notice, that’s changed this time given the high public interest in the effects, both positive and negative, of copper-nickel mining in the national forest.

The leases are overseen jointly by the U.S. Forest Service, which manages the surface lands, and the Bureau of Land Management, which oversees federal mineral rights across the country, and BLM officials, including Deputy Director Linda Lance, were in Ely last week to see the area for themselves and hear from stakeholders on all sides of the issue.

At a meeting with about a dozen Iron Range mayors last week, the officials heard strong support for renewal of the leases as a way to spark job growth in the region, which is currently struggling from the latest downturn in the taconite mining industry. Ely Mayor Chuck Novak, who organized the meeting, said the high wages associated with mining jobs help to sustain many types of businesses around the area, including those not directly related to mining.

Novak said area mayors are supportive of copper-nickel mining proposals, “with the caveat that it not damage the water.” “Our basic message was follow the law and follow the facts,” he said.

Hoyt Lakes Mayor Mark Skelton said he was impressed by the BLM team. “It was a good meeting. Very professional,” he said. Skelton said the area mayors have been working very closely together on economic development and they are eager to move forward with copper-nickel mining. “I’m one of those who thinks we can do it right. I wouldn’t be pounding my chest saying we should do this if we couldn’t do it safely,” he said. “We need these metals for clean energy.”

BLM staff heard a distinctly different message from over three-dozen local residents and business owners, who made the case at a listening session at Vermilion Community College, that the Twin Metals project threatens a growing economic base focused on tourism and quality of life. Many said they had made the choice to move to and invest in the Ely area, for the quality of life, and they see that threatened by copper-nickel mining. Anne Uehling cited a recent University of Minnesota township survey that found nearly a quarter of residents in Ely area townships said the start of copper-nickel would likely prompt them to leave the area.

BLM officials also visited the Voyageur Outward Bound camp, on Spruce Road, and made a brief stop at River Point Resort on Birch Lake, two facilities that owners or operators contend would be devastated by the Twin Metals project.

Opponents of the mine, who are fearful of water pollution and industrialization within a major Boundary Waters watershed, are urging the BLM to deny renewal of the existing permits and impose a moratorium on any future permits, at least for now. Short of that, they want the BLM and Forest Service to conduct a full Environmental Impact Statement, or EIS, before renewing the permits.

That could add two years or more to the renewal process and create uncertainty as Twin Metals seeks to advance its mining proposal. Company spokesperson Bob McFarlin called a full EIS “unwarranted,” and said it’s never been done on a mineral lease renewal request before.

Lease history

The federal Bureau of Land Management first issued the two existing federal mineral leases, known as MNES 1352 and MNES 1353, to the International Nickel Company, or INCO, back in 1966. The leases, which are the only two such leases ever issued on the Superior National Forest, have changed hands over the years, and today are controlled by Twin Metals and its parent company Antofagasta.

The original lease remained in effect for 20 years, and has twice been renewed, for ten years each time. The two leases most recently expired Dec. 31, 2013, and in anticipation of that fact, Beaver Bay Inc., a company headed by longtime prospector Ernie Lehman, began the reapplication process back in October, 2012.

While the BLM approved previous renewal requests with little public involvement, deputy director Lance indicated that would not be the case this time around. “We want to hear from as many people as possible this time,” said Lance. “We’re a multiple- use agency, charged with balancing competing interests,” she said.

Lance gave no indication of when a decision might be reached, but noted that the process is “in the early stages” and would involve decision-making by both the BLM and the Forest Service. “Forest Service support is necessary for moving ahead, but we work independently,” she said. “We know this is an important issue and we want to take the time to get it right.”