HOYT LAKES— NewRange Copper Nickel has proposed major changes to its proposed NorthMet copper-nickel mine, and the company is now awaiting a review from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources that will determine how long a renewed environmental assessment might take to complete.
Those options could include an amendment to the original environmental impact statement, known as a supplemental EIS. The DNR could also determine the new proposal, which includes new owners and sizable changes to the original plan proposed by PolyMet Mining more than two dccades ago, constitutes an entirely new project, requiring a new permit application and full environmental review.
The new proposal for a copper-nickel mine, would include increasing daily production from 32,000 tons per day to 40,000 tons per day, which would shorten the mine’s lifespan from 20 years to 16. This would be accomplished through several changes to the physical layout, including moving stockpiles and buildings, adding a new closed-loop water management system, and transporting ore to the on-site processing plant via a closed conveyor system rather than rail. More specific details are not available; the company has released only a short press release.
NewRange Copper Nickel is also proposing to dispose of tailings in mined-out pits on adjacent land that was previously mined of taconite, moving away from its previous plans to use the existing tailings basin.
As things stand, PolyMet’s permit to mine was reversed by the Minnesota Court of Appeals. The water discharge permit was reversed by the Minnesota Supreme Court, while the wetlands permit was revoked by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers based on objections by the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior. An administrative law judge also ruled that the previous tailings disposal plan would violate Minnesota law for reactive mine waste.
“NewRange may want to say, ‘Oh, we did the right thing now because we’re such good guys.’ But the truth is that their prior plan was deeply flawed, and they kind of ran out of rope,” said Paula Maccabee, chief legal counsel with WaterLegacy.
Maccabee added that she could not speak to the content of the new proposal, as technical details have yet to be shared.
“I can’t tell you what I think of the NewRange proposal because I have not seen a proposal. I’ve seen a press release. It’s possible that there is technical rigorous information out there someplace, but the public certainly hasn’t seen it,” Maccabee said.
NewRange is also a new face with some new players in the legal battle. Glencore, the international commodities brokerage, acquired full ownership of PolyMet – the mine’s original proposers – in 2023. That same year, PolyMet entered into an agreement with Teck Resources and formed NewRange Copper Nickel LLC as a 50-50 joint venture. This means NewRange is the sole manager of both the NorthMet and Mesaba mineral deposits.
“PolyMet Mining Inc. and PolyMet Corp. are gone,” Maccabee said. “Instead, you have this huge conglomerate with Glencore and Teck Resources calling the shots and controlling two, not one, large deposits.”
Given the extent of the changes, Maccabee argues that the new proposal needs to start from scratch.
Whatever additional environmental review is ultimately required, it will only be conducted at the state level. A representative for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said that recent changes at the federal level have caused timeline misalignments in joint environmental reviews and that recent Supreme Court guidance has limited the reach of federal environmental review. Previously, state and federal authorities worked together on the EIS.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is now in the “very early stages” of determining whether an SEIS or a new environmental review is required. The agency plans to announce next steps at the end of the month.
“There clearly needs to be some permit amendments or changes,” said a DNR representative.