REGIONAL— The Department of Natural Resources has issued a temporary stay of a contested case proceeding ordered by the state’s Supreme Court to assess the viability of the use of bentonite clay as a liner for a planned copper-nickel mine near Hoyt Lakes.
The decision, which would maintain the stay until mid-August of 2025, was opposed by both PolyMet, which had proposed the mine, and environmental groups hoping to block the venture.
But a DNR director, Grant Wilson, sided with his agency in opting to grant the stay on the proceedings while PolyMet, or its successor joint venture NewRange Copper, takes the next several months to study alternatives for tailings disposal.
NewRange Copper announced in August that it would undertake four key studies to assess whether new mining technology and sustainability developments can improve the environmental safeguards and performance of their proposed NorthMet mine. 
Those studies include a re-examination of options for tailings disposal, including a new dam design for the tailings basin as well as using former mine pits in the area for tailings disposal.
“Regardless of which option is identified as the best solution, our objective is to ensure that tailings storage is safe and stable, and that we take advantage of any reasonable opportunities to clean up old contamination,” said Tannice McCoy, NewRange president and general manager in the August release. 
The company will also explore increasing their planned production from the 32,000 tons per day in their original plan, to 40,000 tons per day. There would be no change to the project’s 225 million total tons of minerals proposed for mining and processing. However, if feasible, increased daily production could shorten the mine plan from 20 years to 15 years. 
The company is also considering possible alternatives for wastewater treatment along with ways to reduce its carbon footprint, including possible carbon sequestration in geological formations near the mine.
While PolyMet had appeared poised to begin mining operations back in 2018, the company has faced a gauntlet of legal challenges since then that have left most of the state and federally issued permits in tatters.
The company’s DNR-issued permit to mine was remanded in 2021 by the state’s Supreme Court which wanted a better analysis of PolyMet’s proposed use of bentonite clay as a liner for the company’s proposed tailings basin.
PolyMet, which is now a wholly owned subsidiary of the international commodities conglomerate Glencore, has joined forces with Teck Resources to create the NewRange joint venture. The new entity is beginning to reassemble a new mine plan, which may or may not look similar to the old one.
That’s why the DNR opted for a stay in the current proceedings, according to a statement issued by agency spokesperson Gail Nosek. “The scope of potential changes could have a direct impact on specific issues under consideration in the contested case hearing process related to the NorthMet permit to mine,” said Nosek in a statement. “It was determined… that the implementation of a stay will prevent significant expenditure of time and resources in the contested case process for a project design that may become moot if the company amends or withdraws its current permit application.”