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Nonferrous Mining Support Heard
Legislators, county, city officials unite in St. Paul
By KATY MEEKS - Legislative Correspondent - Mesabi Daily News
03/01/2012
ST. PAUL — “When the Iron Range hums, the rest of the state hums
with us,” Rep. Tom Rukavina, DFLVirginia, said during a news conference Wednesday afternoon in support of copper/ nickel/precious metals mining.
That was just the beginning of almost two dozen people who spoke in favor of the mining projects, saying that getting things going on the Range will benefit all of Minnesota.
The 2 p.m. news conference saw a slew of supporters from area legislators, mayors, county commissioners and those employed on and employers of the Range. And all spoke in favor of the
nonferrous mining opportunities that will boost jobs and the economy statewide
“This state needs more jobs,” Sen. David Tomassoni, DFL-Chisholm said. “If people want the economy to turn around this is where to start.”
Several copper/nickel/precious metals mining projects on the Range are in various stages of exploration and development, but mines will only move forward when they receive proper permits from both state and federal agencies. And while the permitting has
historically been a slow-moving process, recent legislation in both the House and Senate is working to speed things up.
“We need efficient permitting processes to get those (mining projects) off the ground as quickly as possible,” Sen. Tom Saxhaug, DFL-Grand Rapids said. “Then we can go full-speed
ahead.”
Rep. Tom Anzelc, DFL-Balsam Township, said the permitting process
is “evolving,” and meetings are happening on a weekly basis.
Area lawmakers are hoping to get statewide support, but they fear that a lack of knowledge among those unfamiliar with the Range and the mining processes has led to a belief that mining is unsafe and not environmentally friendly.
“We all live up there; if anyone wants clean air and water it’s us,” Rep. Carly Melin, DFL-Hibbing said during the news conference.
The legislators are not shy to point out that Minnesota has one of the strictest environmental review standards in the nation.
“This will be done right, safely and cleanly,” Tomassoni said.
“No one will get a permit without guaranteeing to protect the environment first,” Rukavina said. He said it would be wise for the entire state of Minnesota to support this because everyone would benefit.
Melin added that the metals extracted would be used by everyone in the form of cellphones, computers and more. “All devices we use need these precious resources,” Rukavina said. So if everyone is using them, why not help Minnesota in the process instead of
getting them from a third-world country, Melin pointed out.
Lawmakers aren’t the only ones vested in pushing mining proposals.
The news conference also welcomed Roger Skraba, Ely mayor, who
emphasized the integral part of mining in northern Minnesota.
“We have people coming to our community telling us what to do,” he
said. “And thanks, we know what we’re doing — we live up here, we know what’s going on.” Skraba said in a Tuesday press release
that he was looking forward to being in St. Paul to emphasize the overwhelming support for mining projects and the jobs they would bring to the cities and towns of the area.
Keith Nelson, chairman of the St. Louis County Board of Commissioners, stressed how important mining is to his constituents. “We can do this right,” Nelson said.
Frank Ongaro of MiningMinnesota said the companies are ready, but a few issues stand in the way. “Sulfide is just one issue,” he said after the conference.
Range lawmakers have said they all worry that some GOP legislators from around the state don’t understand how much mining could benefit all of Minnesota.
But Rep. Carolyn McElfatrick, R-Grand Rapids, who is the only Republican representing the Range, strongly supports environmentally-safe mining. “I am a Republican, and I am here
with them,” she said. She emphasized the importance of mining’s history, but also recognized mining’s future. “It’s our future and I’m looking forward to it,” McElfatrick said.
An important step in project progression is the tie between workers and management. “Good things happen when labor and
business management work together,” Anzelc said. He proclaimed his
confidence in nonferrous projects, but hopes they won’t turn fall to the wayside like has happened in the past. “We let it slip away in the ‘80s, let’s not let it slip away this time,” he said.
Range workers also support the “safe and responsible” projects. “These are jobs that are sustainable,” a construction worker said.
PolyMet Acquires Control of Wetlands
Wednesday, February 29 2012
St Paul, Minnesota, February 29, 2012 - PolyMet Mining Corp. (TSX: POM; NYSE-A:PLM) ("PolyMet" or the "Company") today announced that, through its wholly owned US subsidiary, it has acquired control of land that it plans to restore to wetlands.
PolyMet controls 100% of the development-stage NorthMet copper-nickel-precious metals ore-body and the nearby Erie Plant, located near Hoyt Lakes in the established mining district of the Mesabi Iron Range in northeastern Minnesota.
PolyMet has entered into an agreement with AG for Waterfowl, LLP ("AG") whereby PolyMet will pay AG US$2.0 million cash and issue 2,788,902 of its common shares and a warrant to purchase 1,083,333 of its common shares at US$1.50 per share at any time until December 31, 2015 in exchange for a mortgage over land currently in agricultural use that AG will restore to wetlands.
The transaction will close upon approval by appropriate securities regulatory authorities, which is anticipated in early March.
CalciTech Appoints MD for European Operations
CalciTech Ltd. (OTCBB: CLK) announces today the appointment of Michael Watts as Managing Director of CalciTech Synthetic Minerals Europe Limited (“CSME”), its UK based wholly-owned European operating subsidiary. The acting Managing Director, Michael Brickell, will now become a non-executive director.
CSME has an independent UK board of directors and senior management with extensive commercial, industrial and financial experience, and will operate independently within Europe.
CSME will be responsible for building the first SCC production plants in Europe and making product available to the market.
Mr. Watts has a strong track record in bringing new technologies to commercialisation. Previously on the Boards of Alpine Venture Partners and BTG S.A., both of Switzerland, he most recently spent 6 years as President and CEO of the BTG Group, a multinational company owned by Spectris plc with €100 million in sales and 450 employees. BTG provides instrumentation and consumable products to the pulp and paper industry. While at BTG, he led the Company's development into becoming a highly profitable operation despite adverse market conditions.
Prior to BTG, Mr. Watts held several senior positions with various companies such as President of Beta Lasermike Inc. (a Spectris company), Raychem Corporation of Menlo Park California (now Tyco Electronics), and Beecham Pharmaceuticals (now GlaxoSmithKline). A physicist by training, Mr. Watts holds an MBA from INSEAD.
Roger Leopard, CEO of CalciTech Limited said: “I’m delighted that Michael Watts has joined CSME at this time as his ability, experience and knowledge will drive the implementation of CSME’s business plan.”
Excellent & Quick
I am glad that Polymet did not let this misinformation go unanswered. I am also glad that they replied to this so quickly.
Specifically naming the Star Tribune was very refreshing and, hopefully the paper will be more cautious next time. They (the paper) really needs to make an apology (good luck to that), instead of issuing just a small correction.
By using the words "misrepresented" and "incorrectly stated", Polymet made the Star Tribune look very unprofessional.
Stunningly Poor Reporting
Thanks for the clarification - I hope that Polymet addresses this with a company issued statement next week!
EPA Challenge Stalls Copper-Nickel Mine Near Hoyt Lakes
Article by: JOSEPHINE MARCOTTY , Star Tribune
EPA demands a more thorough look at potential environmental effects of the mine in a wild and scenic corner of Minnesota.
A long-awaited mining project that promises economic renewal for Minnesota's Iron Range has been delayed repeatedly in the past year because federal regulators are insisting the company conduct more rigorous research to predict its environmental ramifications on the wildest and most scenic corner of the state.
In the latest delay, announced last week, PolyMet Mining Corp. said its two-year-old environmental review will not be made public until next fall.
That means the copper-nickel mine, first proposed in 2006, would not begin construction until 2014 at the earliest if the project is approved.
The new delay was announced after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) told the company its computer model was fatally flawed because it had not collected enough data from the mine site.
"Any modeling ... using this inadequate number of samples would have results that are not scientifically defensible," the EPA said in a letter to the state and federal officials who are overseeing the environmental review.
Ken Westlake, the EPA's chief reviewer, said the agency is now waiting for the company to do the research, which is crucial to the validity of the environmental review.
"It predicts how [the mine] will perform,'' he said this week. "And that is the essence of environmental impact."
The project has been long anticipated because of its promise to create hundreds of jobs on the Iron Range. But it has also been hugely controversial because of its potential effect on water and recreation. Environmental groups, cabin owners and some local residents have fought it since its inception, saying the environmental risks of acid drainage from waste rock and the mine's tailings basin are far greater than those of taconite and iron ore mining.
PolyMet's first environmental review, completed in 2010 under the auspices of state and federal regulators, was sharply criticized by the EPA and advocacy groups because the project it described would have likely violated state and federal clean-water laws.
The company said this week it is making progress in addressing the concerns raised by the EPA, as well as those of Indian tribes, environmental groups, and state and federal regulators overseeing the environmental review. But the process is complex and significantly larger in scope than the first review, and is simply taking longer than anticipated, said LaTisha Gietzen, spokesperson for PolyMet."We don't get to control the schedule," she said. Throughout the process, the company has agreed to requests for new information and data, she said.
At the EPA's urging, PolyMet has constructed about 20 wells around the planned site to collect baseline water-quality data. It's also made significant changes in the design of the project to address pollution concerns, Gietzen said.
Still, the delays are raising concerns among environmental groups as well. This week, Paula Maccabee, an attorney for Water Legacy, sent a letter to the agencies overseeing the review, criticizing what she said is their willingness to rely on PolyMet's assumptions rather than on data.
"Their assumptions are designed to hide the truth, not find the truth," she said.
State officials overseeing the review said they, too, are on board with the EPA's requests.
"The EPA says we need to go further," said Bill Johnson, mining section lead for the environmental review unit of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. "New data ... [are] being collected."
Several groups have asked the DNR and other agencies for an update on the process, which is scheduled for later this month.
The PolyMet project has strong local and political support because of the company's expectation that it could generate as many as 350 jobs for the 20-year life of the mine, plus many hundreds more in spin-off economic activity for the region.
The Iron Range project would be the first mine of its kind in Minnesota, one that extracts and crushes sulfide-bearing rock to produce such metals as copper, nickel and palladium, which are in high demand for computers, cellphones, wind turbines and other new technologies. Several more copper mining projects closer to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area are also in development.
The PolyMet open pit mine would be near Babbitt. The ore would be processed at the former LTV Steel Mining Co. Erie Plant in Hoyt Lakes.
But environmentalists say that northeastern Minnesota, with forests, lakes and wetlands that make it one of the most beautiful and popular areas in the state, is the wrong place for such a mine. The risk of acid runoff and the leaching of heavy metals, they argue, are too great a risk. They also say it could threaten some of the declining number of Minnesota's naturally occurring stands of wild rice, a major concern for Indian tribes, because the plant does not grow well in water high in sulfates, another potential byproduct of the mine and ore processing.
PolyMet and other proponents of the mining resurgence say new technologies, legally required financial protections and sharp regulatory oversight would protect the region and its $700 million tourism industry.
But the repeated delays in completing the environmental review are an indication of how difficult it will be to fulfill that promise, environmental groups say.
"What else do you expect when you put a mine in the middle of a wetland," said Greg Seitz, communications director for Friends of the Boundary Waters.
PolyMet: Progress, But It’s Slow
‘It’s taking longer to go through the schedule’
By CHARLES RAMSAY - (Mesabi Daily News) 02/02/12
HOYT LAKES — Progress in the long environmental review process for PolyMet Mining Corp. continues to be made, but it is taking
longer to reach milestones in the review.
That’s the assessment of LaTisha Gietzen, PolyMet vice president of public, governmental and environmental affairs.
“THERE ARE NO PROJECT IMPEDIMENTS,” she said Wednesday. “It’s taking longer to go through the schedule.” Environmental modeling is currently the most important ongoing part of the reviews, Gietzen added. “Quality assurance reviews have taken a little
longer.”
A preliminary review and comment period is expected this summer, with the supplemental draft environmental impact statement out by fall. The final EIS is expected out in the first half of 2013, and permits shortly after that, she said.
Four draft chapters of the nine chapters of the EIS, more than 400
pages, have been completed and are under review now by lead state and federal agencies, including the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Forest Service and as a cooperating agency, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Generation, verification, review and documentation of data are part of the environmental modeling.
Other recent milestones and approvals that have been ACHIEVED:
air emission estimates, visibility, fiber impact and acid deposition evaluations; geotechnical stability modeling wetlands
impacts and mitigation plans; hazardous materials assessments and
updated project description, mine plan, reclamation and waste disposal plans.
A draft EIS completed in November 2009 was broadened to a draft
supplemental EIS after the U.S. Forest Service joined the review and the U.S. EPA became involved.
All comments on the draft EIS have been evaluated, a land exchange
between PolyMet and the U.S. Forest Service has been accomplished, and changes to reduce environmental impacts and enhance economics have been incorporated, a PolyMet news release said.
“It’s a combination of a lot of different things,” Gietzen explained. If permits are granted, PolyMet would proceed with the first non-ferrous mining operation in Minnesota, processing copper, nickel and precious metals such as platinum and palladium.
The company completely owns the development-stage NorthMet ore-body and nearby Erie Plant, located near Hoyt Lakes on the Mesabi Iron Range.
Progress, Minor Setbacks Mark Nonferrous Industry’s Path
By CHARLES RAMSAY Regional Editor - Mesabi Daily News
Nonferrous mining - for copper, nickel and precious metals such as platinum and palladium - continued to advance, as well as incur some opposition during 2011.
No company has started up nonferrous mining in Minnesota yet, with a number is either prospecting or exploratory drilling mode, and the one most advanced, PolyMet, in the midst of environmental review toward obtaining operating permits in the near future.
PolyMet received criticism from opponents several times during the year, most recently at the St. Louis County Board at meetings in Duluth and Ely in December. Opponents say that sulfides mined as part of the process would get into area watersheds. PolyMet received more financial backing during the year from its partner, Glencore AG.
One industry setback occurred in October, when state officials decided to delay approval of pending leases by nonferrous companies for six months, due to opposition from residents or mining foes.
Twin Metals, a venture between Duluth Metals - which purchased the Franconia Minerals operation in March - and its partner, mining giant Antofagasto, opened up a new headquarters for its operations in the Ely area in the fall.
LaTisha Gietzen, PolyMet vice president of governmental and environmental affairs, said that progress had been made on its supplemental EIS and that they continued receiving support during the year. They are "looking at a very busy 2012" on the review and permitting, she said.
About a dozen companies are prospecting or exploring in Northeastern Minnesota for nonferrous minerals, said Mining Minnesota Executive Director Frank Ongaro. The organization is a trade group supporting nonferrous mining.
The year was a positive one as public policy was encouraging investment in nonferrous mining in the region. But, "it would have been nice to see government move through the environmental review more quickly on the project that's furthest along, PolyMet," he said.
While state officials did not act on 2011 nonferrous leases, "those did not delay the current projects" that are in review or progress, Ongaro noted.
The Duluth Complex and other nonferrous mineral deposits in the region continue to draw strong interest globally. As demand grows, "we will do everything we can do for these critical and strategic metals," he said.
Labor Body Cuts Ties With Occupy Duluth
Updated Dec 19, 2011 at 9:50 PM CST
DULUTH, MN (Northland's NewsCenter)
The Duluth Central Labor Body announced today its board voted to disassociate itself from the Occupy Duluth movement.
The decision came after Occupy Duluth publicly opposed the PolyMet mining project.
On December 6th, Occupy Duluth members were among those protesting outside the Kitchi Gammi Club where a Polymet CEO was speaking.
The Central Labor Body's president said the decision was almost unanimous, and the Occupy Duluth group has moved away from their original reasons for supporting them.
The labor body represents more than 17,000 union members in the Duluth region.
State looks for researchers to study effects of sulfate pollution on wild rice.
Stephanie Hemphill, Minnesota Public Radio
December 17, 2011
St. Paul, Minn. — The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has issued a request-for-proposals for scientists to study the effects of sulfate pollution on the state's wild rice.
The state standard on sulfates in wild rice waters has been the subject of debate since the MPCA started trying to get taconite mines to adhere to it a few years ago.
The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce says the state may be moving too slowly on a major study of the effects of sulfate pollution on wild rice beds.
The current limit of ten parts-per-million was adopted in the early 1970s, based on research done in the early 1940s.
The MPCA is working with industry, tribes, federal researchers, and others to design a study protocol. The agency will hire researchers to conduct the experiments.
Mike Robertson, from the chamber, said the study plan is not yet specific enough. Robertson is part of an advisory group that's helping to design the study protocol. He says mining companies and others may be required to invest in sulfate control equipment under the existing standard, which could change as a result of the study.
"The concern is being required to make significant expenditures when the standard could change," Robertson said. "Having a plan that moves forward at a steady pace with good timelines and good research is essential to reach a conclusion to this process."
The legislature appropriated $1.5 million dollars for the study, which is could take two years, at least.
Existing taconite mines are a source of sulfate, and proposed copper-nickel mines could release even more.
Officials from Polymet — whose environmental review is due next month — say they can meet the current standard.
County Board should be on record backing nonferrous mining in region.
Editorial - Mesabi Daily News 12/15/11
Five commissioners wimp out on resolution; Nelson, Forsman stand firm.
The St. Louis County Board on Tuesday was comprised of two steadfast commissioners and five wimps when it came to an issue
of mining job creation in northeastern Minnesota.
It was an absolute shameful act on Tuesday when only two certain votes — Commissioners Keith Nelson of Fayal Township and Mike Forsman of Ely — could be found for a resolution in support of copper/nickel/precious minerals mining on the Iron Range.
The PolyMet project, currently in the final stage of the Environmental Impact Statement process, and other ventures such as Twin Metals would create several thousand permanent jobs and thousands more in construction work and spin-off employment.
Yet five of the commissioners, in varying degrees, displayed negligence regarding the need for jobs that these mining projects will bring to St. Louis County.
There is absolutely nothing surprising about the anti-mining and
anti-Range sentiment of Commissioners Peg Sweeney, Steve O’Neill and Frank Jewell. They show their true colors in that regard often. They love the resources and dollars that flow from the Iron Range to Duluth, but when it comes to really showing support for the Range they are usually Missing in Action.
Commissioner Chris Dahlberg of Duluth, in a post-meeting interview, said he was supportive of mining, but then hedged. He said such “opinion” resolutions placed before the board distract from what should be the government body’s focus.
Huh? A resolution in a support of a project that would bring jobs and revenue to the county is not something that should be part of the board’s focus? Come on commissioner, if you’re for mining as you say, then vote for it.
Then there’s Commissioner Steve Raukar from — HIBBING ON THE
IRON RANGE. Certainly he must be someone who understands the
importance of mining and the jobs it produces to the Iron Range specifically and the county in general and would back this resolution? Well, guess again. Raukar, in a post-meeting interview, said the nonferrous mining resolution is “not a time-sensitive issue” and such mining is regulated by the state
and federal agencies and a consensus of the board was that more dialogue is needed.
Ruakar must have gotten an A-plus in “Bureaucracy 101.” That is the most evasive bureaucratic answer on the issue possible.
Not “time-sensitive”? It’s only the biggest jobs issue that’s been facing the county for some time and is at a critical crossroads when it comes to public support. And it’s an issue many
other elected government bodies across the Range have backed with
resolutions of support. More dialogue needed? This thing has been dialogued to death.
Come on commissioner, take a firm stand one way or another. Waffles are good for breakfast; but waffling is a sorry trait in an elected official.
Let’s be clear here and cut through the usual unfounded hysteria raised by preservationists who oppose nonferrous mining, no matter:
• The safeguards in place for the project.
• The strict state and federal regulations that must be met.
• The modern era technological improvements that have advanced
nonferrous mining when it comes to environmental impacts.
• The great need for the minerals in the United States.
• The great need for the jobs that will be created.
• That the minerals will be mined elsewhere in the world in a terribly environmentally-unfriendly manner.
• That the so-called “Green Economy” they worship is reliant on
the very minerals that would be mined in the projects they oppose.
• That those in opposition devour the same minerals in so many items of their daily lives, ranging from catalytic converters in the vehicles they drive to computers that are their lifeline to work and social venues to medical devices that make their lives
more comfortable or may even mean the difference between life and death.
Bottom line: A resolution like this carries the most necessary and proper stipulation that support of nonferrous mining is contingent on the project(s) meeting state and federal standards.
Commissioner Nelson deserves high praise for drafting and seeking support for this resolution. And we are pleased to see that Commissioner Forsman will put the issue back on the table at a
County Board meeting in Ely next week.
We encourage a strong showing by pro-nonferrous mining people at that meeting — let all board members and everyone in the county know that Duluth does not dictate to the Iron Range; nor do its officials determine policy for the entire county. And if Commissioner Dahlberg supports mining as he says, then his
vote should be in favor of the resolution. And Commissioner Raukar
should have a hearty morning dish of waffles for breakfast to fortify himself and then join his fellow Iron Range commissioners in support of it.
A 4-3 vote would put the County Board on record supporting more jobs and tax revenues for the region, and that would be good policy for St. Louis County.
What are the chances this will happen?
Included in today's update from Polymet was the following statement:
"Douglas Newby, PolyMet's Chief Financial Officer added, "We believe that our relationship with Glencore will enable PolyMet to develop and operate NorthMet as an independent company, focused on generating returns for our stakeholders while having the support of a strategic partner whose interests are aligned with all our shareholders."
Resolution Sparks Controversy at County Board Meeting
December 13, 2011 Updated Dec 13, 2011 at 6:37 PM CST
Duluth, MN (Northland's NewsCenter) - The room was packed with supporters and detractors of non ferrous mining who came to see how the board would vote on a resolution of support.
The resolution was authored by Commissioner Keith Nelson of Virginia.
He says with all the companies looking to mine non ferrous metals in the area it's time the county took a stance and started preparing for the potential impacts of this type of mining.
The resolution says support from the county would be contingent on projects like Polymet getting all federal and state environmental permits to move forward.
Polymet is the most advanced of several companies exploring the possibility of non ferrous mining on the Iron Range.
Polymet officials were on hand at today's meeting to answer any questions the commissioners may have had.
There were strong feelings expressed from both those who support and those opposed to non ferrous mining regarding everything from jobs and housing, to concern about acid drainage from the mining process and lasting impacts to the environment.
"The bottom line is this area of the state and this area of the nation has some of the greatest resources in non ferrous materials that there are. Period." said Commissioner Mike Forsman of Ely.
"We need to deal with the problems we have already made before we make another one. And this resolution and what you said is saying that you want to fast track the process and lay down the ground work," said Jesse Peterson, who opposes non ferrous mining.
PolyMet is currently in the process of putting together a supplemental environmental impact statement. That's expected to be completed by the second quarter of next year.
After hearing from many people on the issue the county board deferred its final vote until its next meeting which will take place one week from today in Ely.
County mulls backing nonferrous mining
Resolution on fledgling mining industry considered
By CHARLES RAMSAY
Regional Editor - Mesabi Daily News 12/10/11
DULUTH — A resolution putting St. Louis County on record supporting nonferrous mining in the region will be up for consideration by the County Board Tuesday morning.
“This will be the first time that we as a board have taken a position on nonferrous mining,” said Commissioner Keith
Nelson of Fayal Township, the resolution’s sponsor.
The measure will be up for debate and consideration during the board’s workshop Committee of the Whole portion Tuesday. If approved, it will advance to the board for final consideration
Dec. 20 in Ely.
Duluth’s media was buzzing earlier last week about PolyMet, the Range company looking to start up the first nonferrous mining operation of copper, nickel and precious metals in Minnesota.
One local official was urged to choose between clean water or mining,Nelson said.
Pioneer Leonidas Merritt’s efforts to ship iron ore from the Range to docks in the Twin Ports “is what really put the
port of Duluth on the map,” Nelson said.
He noted that several reasons for supporting mining, the biggest industry in Northeastern Minnesota, are:
• National Security: Copper, nickel, platinum, palladium, cobalt, gold and titanium are considered critical and strategic to the United States, with no nickel processing or production within
the country. Annual consumption of copper is about 2 million tons, with domestic production at 1.3 million tons. Platinum consumption annually is pegged at 150,000 kilograms, with
domestic production at 3,600 kilograms per year. China currently holds predominance of rare earths production globally, with its own supply. “We have rare earths on the Iron Range,” he added.
• Environment: Minnesota is a leader in the nation in environmental regulation for air and water quality against
pollution. There has been no rush in PolyMet’s environmental review for permits, which has been ongoing since 2004 at a cost more than $35 million to the company alone, Nelson said.
• Jobs and Economic Development: Many new mining jobs and more spinoff supplier/vendor jobs are expected to be created by nonferrous mining, 360 permanent, well-paying jobs at PolyMet
alone. About 34 percent of the region’s gross domestic product already comes from mining, and growing jobs can help expand the economy, he explained.
• Tax Burden: Nonferrous mining is expected to add tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue annually, in net proceeds
to local schools and cities, royalties and occupation taxes. The School Trust Fund would receive a lot of funds from possible projects, to districts. Such projects “will have a tremendous
effect on property taxes for St. Louis county residents,” Nelson added. New workers and families moving to communities in the region when projects start up as well as taxes paid by mining companies can help spread the county’s tax burden, he added.
Nelson said he expects a lot of dialogue on the resolution Tuesday, but added that “the board should support the resolution as a whole.”
Chamber Lunch Go-ers Met by Protesters
December 6, 2011 Updated Dec 6, 2011 at 6:15 PM CST
Duluth, MN (Northland's NewsCenter)
Many say this controversy boils down to an age-old dispute of environment versus jobs.
"We're hoping to let them know there are people who are paying attention to this issue and we are going to fight for clean water in Minnesota," said Reyna Crow, from Duluth.
PolyMet is on track to be the first working non ferrous mine in Minnesota.
It plans to harvest copper, nickel, palladium, platinum and gold for the area that was once the LTV taconite mine in Hoyt Lakes.
PolyMet spokesperson LaTisha Gietzen said the company is meeting every goal set by every environmental agency from the state to the federal government.
They're currently working on a draft of the supplemental environmental impact statement.
"Any comment that was received on the draft will have to be addressed in the supplemental (draft). Many of the project changes that have occurred in the last two years will address those issues and concerns that were raised on the draft," said Gietzen.
But protesters, who didn't come in to the Kitchie Gammi Club to hear CEO Joe Scipioni's speech, said they still don't feel confident that the process will protect the environment.
"I haven't seen enough details to believe that they have modified their mine plan to where it is safe for our public waters," said Bob Tammen from Soudan.
"This is not a harmless product and we have to be very careful with this. They don't have the right to pollute our waterways; they don't have the right to pollute the environment for my children, my grand children, and my great grand children," said Gary Kent, a protester from Finland.
PolyMet CEO Joe Scipioni assured those at the luncheon that government regulations assure that air and water are protected.
"Every company that wants to do business in Minnesota will be required to meet every standard Minnesota has in place, PolyMet will be no exception. Once the PolyMet project is fully defined and comes forward it will demonstrate it can meet all the standards, or it won't get a permit. It's that simple," said Frank Ongaro, executive director of Mining Minnesota.
PolyMet officials say a supplemental Environmental Impact Statement draft is expected to be released to the public in the second quarter of 2012.
CalciTech Appoints Mott Macdonald as Design Engineers
GENEVA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CalciTech Ltd. (OTCBB:CLK) announces today that its subsidiary CalciTech Synthetic Minerals Ltd (CSM) has signed an agreement with Mott MacDonald Ltd. of the United Kingdom, a global management, engineering and development consultancy. The company will prepare basic engineering design documentation for a 50,000 tonnes per annum Synthetic Calcium Carbonate (SCC) plant.
The project with CSM will be managed by John Challenger, a Divisional Director of Mott MacDonald’s Nuclear and Process business.
Commenting on the appointment John Challenger said: “Mott MacDonald is pleased to provide engineering design services for the development incorporating CalciTech’s patented technology. We have years of experience in the process industry sector and will provide CSM with an integrated service both for the first plant and for future plants wherever they will be built throughout the world.”
About CalciTech Synthetic Minerals Ltd:
CalciTech Synthetic Minerals Ltd has developed and patented unique technology for the production of Synthetic Calcium Carbonate, “SCC” a specialty material that may be widely used in industrialized parts of the world and is developing operating licensees in these territories, the first being in Europe. With its technological capabilities, CalciTech will continue to develop the product potential into other areas.
About Mott MacDonald Ltd.:
Mott MacDonald of the United Kingdom is a global management, engineering and development consultancy with more than 14,000 staff, £1 billion revenue and work in 140 countries for the public and private sectors. Mott MacDonald’s core business sectors cover buildings, transport, energy, water, environment, health, education, industry, oil and gas, communications and international development. The company has a significant and growing business in the industry sector and is currently working on a range of major projects in USA, China, Middle East, Russia, Europe and the UK.
Additional Info - PolyMet, Glencore OK Finances Pact
By CHARLES RAMSAY - Regional Editor Mesabi Daily News (12/03/11)
HOYT LAKES — The nonferrous mining company Pol Met has agreed to sell $20 million worth of common shares to its financial partner Glencore AG at $1.50 per common share, the company said.
Part of the agreement will have PolyMet issuing warrants to Glencore to buy 2.6 million common shares at $1.50 per share through the end of 2015 under several conditions.
About $7 million of sale proceeds will repay outstanding notes to Cliffs Resources Inc., with the rest to go for permitting and general corporate purposes, a PolyMet news release said Thursday. The closing is subject to approvals by regulators.
The private placement of 13.3 million common shares by PolyMet for Glencore will be “enough money to get us through” the next several years, LaTisha Gietzen, PolyMet vice president for public, government and environmental affairs said Thursday in a phone interview.
PolyMet is seeking to start up the first nonferrous mining operation in Minnesota that would process copper, nickel and precious metals like platinum and palladium. The company is going through a draft supplemental environmental impact statement to be released in the second quarter of 2012, with a final EIS out by late 2012, along with air, water, wetlands, operating and other permits approvals going on in parallel, she added. When permits are issued, perhaps by early 2013, 1.25 million man-hours of construction could begin, with production startup and 360 permanent jobs by mid-2014, if the timeline holds.
In another announcement Thursday, PolyMet said it had renegotiated some financing amendments for: Extension of the maturity date for debentures from Sept. 30, 2012, to Sept. 30, 2014, or else notification of received permits; warrants to Glengore issued in November 2010 have been amended to allow Glencore to buy 3 million common shares of PolyMet at $1.50 per share through the end of 2015, with several conditions added. The amendments are subject to approval by regulators also.
A third part of the 2010 agreement for funding, $10 million from Glencore for 5 million common shares at $2 each by no later than Oct. 15, 2012, is unaffected by the financing amendments, the company said.
The draft supplemental EIS is being done as one document, led by state and federal agencies: The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, to arrive at a decision of adequacy; and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, with input from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to arrive at a record of decision.
Gietzen said PolyMet has spent more than $35 million of its funds so far on the environmental review since 2004, and more than $100 million in all areas, including the purchase of the former LTV Mining plant; and an EIS can often take seven to nine years to complete.
“This is really good for the community,” Gietzen said of the new financing, “to have secured funding to get us through the next couple years.”
CalciTech Announces Merchant SCC Plant Project
11/14/2011
GENEVA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CalciTech Ltd. (OTCBB: CLK) announces today that it’s European licensee, CalciTech Synthetic Minerals Europe Ltd (“CSME”) has signed a Letter of Intent relating to the construction and operation of a Synthetic Calcium Carbonate (“SCC”) plant on the site of SKW Stickstoffwerke Piesteritz GmbH (“SKWP”). The plant, with planned production of 50,000 tonnes per annum will be situated on the Agro-Chemie Park, Piesteritz in Lutherstadt-Wittenberg, Germany. Feasibility should be completed by 31 December 2011 at the latest.
“This is the first of a number of smaller merchant plants intended to be built in Europe and has required a design modification from our 100,000 tonnes per annum plant developed in 2007.”
SKWP is the largest producer of ammonia in Germany and is actively developing business on the Agro-Chemie Park. In addition to renting a suitable plot of land to CSME, and providing utilities and site services, SKWP will supply the CO2 required for this SCC plant.
Thomas Livingstone-Learmonth, COO of CSME said: “This is the first of a number of smaller merchant plants intended to be built in Europe and has required a design modification from our 100,000 tonnes per annum plant developed in 2007.”
Roger Leopard, CEO of CalciTech Limited commented: “The Agro-Chemie Park is an excellent location for this plant, which is exceptionally well developed and will significantly contribute to its high “green” standards absorbing carbon emissions.”
About CalciTech Ltd:
CalciTech Ltd has developed and patented unique technology for the production of Synthetic Calcium Carbonate, “SCC” a specialty material that may be widely used in industrialized parts of the world and is developing operating licensees in these territories, the first being in Europe. With its technological capabilities, CalciTech will continue to develop the product potential into other areas.
About CalciTech Synthetic Minerals Europe Ltd:
The Company, recently established in England, has been granted an exclusive license for Europe to execute on the business plan to develop the use of SCC specialty products within the high end valued segments of paper, paint, polymer and related areas, food and pharma applications. CSME, independently managed, is seeking funding through the London market for investment in Europe.
About SKW Stickstoffwerke Piesteritz GmbH:
SKWP is the largest ammonia and urea producer in Germany and is located at the 220 hectare Agro-Chemical Park Piesteritz being unique in Germany. About 800 employees at sites in Piesteritz and Cunnersdorf produce a broad range of industrial chemical and agrochemical products, around four million tons of products every year. The company is also one of the most innovative fertilizer producers in Europe. The modern products for plant nutrition are developed in the company's own research and development centre. In Cunnersdorf near Leipzig, everything that is connected with the concrete use of the innovative fertilizer products is tested, examined and investigated on over 170 hectares. SKWP is part of the Agrofert Group owned by Andrej Babiš.
The directors of the company take responsibility for this announcement.
CalciTech Appoints CFO For European Operations
GENEVA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CalciTech Ltd. (OTCBB:CLK) announces today the appointment of Ash Mehta as CFO of CalciTech Synthetic Minerals Europe Limited (“CSME”), its wholly-owned European operating subsidiary. CSME has an independent UK board of directors and senior management with extensive commercial, industrial and financial experience, and will operate independently within Europe.
Mr. Mehta joins with an excellent knowledge of the public equity markets in the City of London having been on the board of a number of full-list and AIM-quoted companies. He is currently a non-executive director of Northbridge Industrials Services plc, having previously been Finance Director.
He began his career with KMPG where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant. Following qualification, he worked in commercial finance roles for Eli Lilly Inc., and Parexel International Inc. since then he has held a number of CFO positions in public companies.
Roger Leopard, CEO of CalciTech Limited said: “I’m delighted that Ash has joined CSME at this exciting time as his experience and knowledge of the equity markets in London will be vital to the success of CSME. We continue to make good progress in developments for the commercialisation of our technology in Europe and I look forward to announcing further news in the coming weeks.”
Wild Rice Poses Another Obstacle To Mine Proposal
By Dan Kraker, Minnesota Public Radio
October 7, 2011
Duluth, Minn. — The controversial Polymet mining project proposal near Hoyt Lakes on the Iron Range has been under environmental review for years, in part because of the potential for sulfuric acid to contaminate area waters. But as review nears conclusion, some mine supporters are worried about another potential environmental roadblock: wild rice.
Minnesota has a 40-year-old standard that limits the amount of sulfate that gets into wild rice-producing waters. The current standard limits discharges to 10 milligrams per liter.
Polymet's proposed copper-nickel mine would create hundreds of jobs. Representative Chip Cravaack, R-Dist. 8, hosted a third "roundtable" meeting Friday in Duluth with supporters and regulators of the Polymet mining project.
DFL State Representative Tom Rukavina of Virginia thinks the discharge limit could be a challenge both to precious metal mines like Polymet, and iron ore mines that want to expand.
"I don't know if they can meet it, and it's making me very nervous," Rukavina said. Rukavina's bill to ease the standard failed in this year's legislative session, although lawmakers set aside $1.5 million to study whether the standard is still appropriate.
Rukavina said federal regulators say even if the state approved a new standard, it might not pass muster under the Clean Water Act.
Rukavina suggested Friday it might require federal legislation to change the standard. He said Cravaack, a Republican, was receptive to the idea. But Polymet spokeswoman Latisha Geitzen said the company doesn't need to change the standard.
“POLYMET CAN MEET THE CURRENT SULFATE STANDARD. WE HAVE NOT BEEN PUSHING TO HAVE THE STANDARD ARBITRARILY CHANGED.”
Gietzen said the company can meet the standard through a combination of technologies that capture and treat water at the mine. But some constituencies watch the situation warily.
The Fond du Lac reservation located downstream of Polymet on the St. Louis River has its own EPA-approved water quality standards that also set the sulfate limit in wild rice waters at 10 milligrams per liter.
The standard is fair, said Nancy Schuldt, water projects coordinator for the Fond du Lac Ojibwe band's environmental program. She said that technology exists for companies like Polymet to meet the standard.
"I think that ought to be considered part of the cost of doing business, if mining companies want to continue to make a profit on these mineral resources in the state of Minnesota, then they ought to be prepared to be good corporate neighbors and apply the most rigorous available technology," she said.
What concerns Schuldt is where exactly the standard will be applied; what the MPCA will consider as wild rice-producing waters. Frank Ongaro with the industry group Mining Minnesota said there's uncertainy in the wild rice standard, and that can be challenging to mining companies.
"I don't know if the word 'nervous' is right, but certainly concern of how this will all be handled at the various levels of government, from an entire industry standpoint," Ongaro said.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency hosts its first meeting Monday to finalize research protocols for its wild rice research study. Meanwhile a draft of Polymet's Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement is expected to be released in January. After it's reviewed by state and federal agencies and the company, it will be released to the public sometime after April.
Chip Cravaack Making PolyMet A Reality
Gary Gross - Minneapolis Conservative Examiner
October 11, 2011
The starkest difference between Chip Cravaack and Jim Oberstar, besides Chip being accessable and approachable and Oberstar being distant, is the fact that Chip's getting results on PolyMet:
Federal regulatory agencies are cooperating better and are on pace to finish the draft environmental review of the PolyMet copper mine project by January.
That was the report Friday after a meeting in Duluth called by U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack, R-North Branch. Cravaack, Iron Range lawmakers, PolyMet corporate officials and representatives of state and federal regulatory agencies have met three times this year to facilitate progress of the proposed copper-nickel mine and processing center between Babbitt and Hoyt Lakes.
“I’m extremely encouraged. We’re addressing problems before they become problems,” Cravaack told reporters after the meeting.
Rep. Oberstar didn't lift a finger to make PolyMet a reality until he noticed he was in a dogfight for re-election. Then he suddenly told the world that he'd return to Washington to cut through the federal government's red tape:
It’s been in the works for more than four years, but when the environmental review came out last fall, the federal government blasted the report as inadequate.
Oberstar says he wants a thorough review, but it shouldn’t take so long. “The red tape, the slowdown, the lack of full attention by federal and state permitting agencies has dragged this process out much too long,” said Oberstar.
Oberstar said the No. 1 issue people talk about in northeastern Minnesota is jobs. And the Polymet mine promises 400 jobs.
“I’ve heard some concerns, ‘Be careful about our environment. We love this land, we don’t want our waters to be adversely affected.’ And I’ve assured people that corners will not be cut, there will be no exceptions made, but we have to do this in an expeditious manner,” he said.
Chip didn't just talk the talk. He's followed through. He's shown leadership. He's getting results. Oberstar paid lip service but he didn't get things done with PolyMet. Here's how Chip is getting things done:
Cravaack has excluded environmental groups and mining opponents from the meetings. He said mining critics have a “conduit” to the meetings through regulatory agencies.
In short, he's excluded the organizations committed to preventing PolyMet from becoming a reality. The results speak for themselves:
On Friday, Cravaack said the environmental impact statement should be ready by January, as has been predicted for about a year, and that permits could be issued and the mine under construction by this time in 2012. It would be Minnesota’s first copper mine.
“We’re on track to get this mine open and bring jobs to northern Minnesota,” he added.
Cravaack said the quarterly meetings have spurred agency officials to talk more and coordinate efforts, speeding the environmental review process that already has lasted four years. That includes the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and Pollution Control Agency also are involved.
The results are obvious. Even the DFL is praising Chip: State Rep. Tom Rukavina, DFL-Pike Township, and Sen. Dave Tomassoni, DFL-Chisholm, agreed that Cravaack’s meetings have helped keep federal regulators focused.
“It appears the agencies are communicating in a way they were not communicating before,” Tomassoni said.
In short, the results can't be denied. It must've killed Rep. Oberstar's allies to admit that a Republican is helping revive the Iron Range's mining industry through his persistence and his dogging federal regulators into action.
MINING SUBCABINET SET UP
Gov. Dayton directed four commissioners to devise a plan
following jobs forum in Virginia; they quickly responded.
By BILL HANNA
Executive Editor - Mesabi Daily News (09/16/11)
ST. PAUL — A subcabinet on mining has been created as directed by
Gov. Mark Dayton. “It will not be a ceremonial group. It will be hands-on with mining development projects and will report directly to the governor,” Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation Board Commissioner Tony Sertich said in a telephone interview on Thursday.
Dayton heard from several people at an economic development forum in Virginia on Tuesday that delays on mining projects are frustrating developers and investors and keeping payroll checks from being earned in a more timely fashion for workers.
Sertich said Dayton, whose campaign mantra was “jobs, jobs, jobs,” turned to him during the forum and said he wanted to work immediately on the issue. He wasted no time. A conference call was set up on Wednesday and continued Thursday with Sertich and
Commissioners Paul Aasen of the Pollution Control Agency, Tom
Landwehr of the Department of Natural resources and Mark Phillips of the Department of Employment and Economic Development. They form the mining subcabinet.
They will decide soon on a point person hired in that new position. That person will:
• Make sure the agencies that deal with mining issues are hitting their deadlines.
• Keep lines of communication open with federal agencies involved and ensure there is state and federal coordination on projects.
• Make sure the mining subcabinet is hitting its marks for the governor.
“There will now be a single point of contact for mining companies and developers to go to,” Sertich said. IRRRB official Brian Hiti, who currently deals with community development and mining issues at the agency, will start right away as the point person until a permanent hire is in place, Sertich said. “The IRRRB will be taking the lead,” Sertich said.
The Iron Range taconite mining industry currently has upgrades
underway at plants, and new projects ranging from an Essar Minnesota mineto-steelmaking venture on the West Range to several copper/nickel/precious metals initiatives on the East Range.
What has triggered the most debate and controversy has been the PolyMet nonferrous project slated for the former LTV Mining Co. plant near Hoyt Lakes. That venture, which is being fought
by preservationist groups, has now had more than six years of environmental review. Yet it remains in the supplemental draft Environmental Impact Statement phase. The project would create 360 permanent jobs, hundreds more spin-off positions and 1.5 million hours of construction work.
“Job number one will be to look at where all the projects are currently at. A key piece will be our relationships with
federal regulations,” Sertich said. The IRRRB commissioner said
“everybody’s fully on board and supportive of our recommendations to the governor,” referring to all members of the subcabinet.
“The expectation is that the government needs to work well. We’re
not predisposing the outcomes. But we are saying that if we say we’re going to do something, then we’ll do it,” Sertich said. “With big developments there are so many layers of government involved. We need somebody committed to see the whole picture.”
Sertich had high praise for the governor’s decision to move quickly on the mining issue. “I think this is a positive step
forward. It shows commitment to making sure these projects meet
deadlines and timelines. It shows Gov. Dayton’s leadership to solve problems.
He is solutions-oriented to get jobs done. “He said get me a plan. That’s the sign of a good leader,” the commissioner said.
Value in governor’s visit; now let’s move on projects, jobs
Opinion - Mesabi Daily News (09/15/11)
We believe there was a lot of value in Gov. Mark Dayton bringing
his traveling economic development forum to the Iron Range on
Tuesday.
It was important that he heard first-hand of the strong support for nonferrous mining projects and the jobs they will bring to the
region, and therefore the state.
And it was equally important that he heard the built-up frustration and actual outrage with delay after delay after delay in the regulatory process for mining ventures that has stalled them for far too long.
The copper/nickel/precious metals PolyMet initiative near Hoyt
Lakes is now more than six years into environmental review.
Meanwhile, 360 goodpaying jobs, hundreds more spin-off positions
and 1.5 million hours of construction work are being held hostage.
It’s absolutely ridiculous that the co-lead agencies in the environmental procedure — the state Department of Natural
Resources, U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers —
have dragged their feet so far on the Environmental Impact
Statement measure. It’s now at the supplemental draft EIS level.
Draft? It should be in effect by now.The governor said he was going to check right away with the DNR on the situation.
And he told the Mesabi Daily News in an interview after the
forum on Tuesday that he was holding a conference call with
DNR, MPCA and Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation Board
commissioners on Wednesday to move on getting a point person
involved to more quickly move forward mining regulatory review.
That is good. And we give the governor good marks for doing so.
But it’s time that all elected officials — state and federal — become advocates for U.S. mining, most specifically on the Iron
Range.
It’s time to flat out stipulate that everyone wants mining —
whether taconite or nonferrous — done with environmental concerns always in mind. That goes without saying. And it really — really gets tiresome hearing preservationists act like they are the only people who care about the environment.
These mining projects can be done in a sound environmental manner. Even MPCA Commissioner Paul Aasen, who worked for a preservationist group before taking the helm as the state’s top
environmental watchdog, answered an MDN question of whether there were current state environmental safeguards in place for
nonferrous mining this way: “A broad brush answer is yes.”
It’s way past time for the DNR and Forest Service to pull up their
big boy pants and either nix the ventures or move the permitting
process forward.
Mining point person to be discussed today in governor’s call
Dayton responding to concerns on regulation delays
By BILL HANNA
Executive Editor - Mesabi Daily News (09/14/11)
VIRGINIA — Gov. Mark Dayton and three of his commissioners will hold a conference call today to move ahead on creating a point person to help accelerate mining projects toward development.
“We talked about this three or four months ago, but with the legislative session and government shutdown it has not progressed as it should have,” the governor said in an interview following a regional economic development summit that attracted about 200 people at Mesabi Range Community and Technical College’s Virginia campus on Tuesday.
The governor said in the post-forum interview that at other regional forums in Winona, Fergus Falls and Brainerd concerns were also raised about permitting and regulation delays in general.
The call will include Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation Board
Commissioner Tony Sertich, DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr and Pollution Control Agency Commissioner Paul Aasen.
Frank Ongaro, executive director of MiningMinnesota, spoke of the need for more emphasis in state government put on the mining industry.
“Governor, thank you for your support of mining and miningrelated
initiatives. But more needs to be done. It’s time to elevate it to
the next level,” Ongaro said, speaking directly to Dayton.
Ongaro, whose group represents nonferrous copper/nickel/precious
metals mining, said it’s time to take everywhere “the neon sign that reads Minnesota is open to mining.” He said that would send the right message to investors across the country.
“But we have delay after delay after delay. Something’s just not
right,” Ongaro said. There are several nonferrous mining ventures on the drawing board for the East Range, with PolyMet, slated for
the former LTV Mining Co. site near Hoyt Lakes, the farthest along. That project, which would create 360 permanent jobs,
hundreds more spin-off positions and more than 1.5 million hours of construction work, is currently in a supplemental draft
Environmental Impact Statement phase. That document was expected
to be completed earlier this summer.
Dayton said after the forum that he would be checking to see what was the status of the PolyMet supplemental draft EIS. The DNR, U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are co-lead agencies in the draft EIS review.
Finally, EPA Is Reined In.
Now is time for our U.S. senators to push Range mining projects.
Mesabi Daily News Editorial - 09/04/11
President Barack Obama made a common sense decision on Friday to
rein in the Environmental Protection Agency’s penchant for excessive regulation.
The president nixed a planned anti-smog, clean-air regulation that
would have been a major job-killer. Even the agency’s own scientific advisors had calculated imposing the regulation would tag businesses with a $90 billion a year price tag.
We are extremely pleased that the president — although reluctantly — finally decided that his regulatory positions are
harming the nation’s economy.
The announcement by the Obama Administration to cancel the EPA regulation could not have been timed better for the nation to fully understand just how damaging the EPA can be to the country when it is allowed to run roughshod over businesses, unions,
workers and communities.
Just hours prior to release of the president’s decision a report showed that unemployment remained stuck in August at 9.1 percent
and essentially no jobs were added that month. Translated: The
economy is ready to shift from neutral to reverse.
We would hope that Minnesota’s Democratic U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken would use any influence they have
with the president to get him on board with copper/nickel/precious
metals mining projects on the East Range. We have urged they do so in the past. And now is the perfect time for them to actually,
and publicly, to make that push.
MiningMinnesota Executive Director Frank Ongaro summarized the
situation with nonferrous mining in the state perfectly at a
town hall meeting on economic development with Lt. Gov. Yvonne
Prettner Solon and other state officials last Monday.
He said: “We are prepared and ready to create jobs like no other
industry in the state,” he said of the hundreds and even thousands of permanent jobs that nonferrous mining would bring to the area. And that’s not even counting the thousands more of spin-off jobs and the millions of construction hours that would result.
Both U.S. senators have said they support the PolyMet copper/nickel/precious metals project, which is the farthest along of the several nonferrous ventures. But we need a lot more than just words in Washington.
We need vibrant advocacy. We need strong action. The two Democratic senators should emphasize with the administration that one of the richest veins of nonferrous metals is on Minnesota’s Iron Range. And those metals are needed to fuel the president’s beloved “green economy.”
There should be no more dilly-dallying. Preservationists are
going to oppose these projects, even though they will clearly meet
state and federal environmental standards. It’s now time for Democratic leaders to stand up to their rigid resistance and stand
behind American workers and their families.
Mr. President, you want jobs? We have hundreds and thousands of them ready to go in Minnesota.
Town meeting all about mining.
State officials get earful on copper/nickel/precious metals dispute.
By BILL HANNA
Executive Editor - Mesabi Daily News (08/31/11)
MOUNTAIN IRON — Officials of Gov. Mark Dayton’s administration traveled to the Iron Range to hear what was on the minds of local
residents. What they got Monday night was an earful of what citizens discuss and debate each and every day — the ongoing and forever conflict between those who champion mining and the jobs it produces and opponents who see the industry as toxic to the environment and everyday life on the Range.
Lt. Gov. Yvonne Prettner Solon told about 50 people attending the two-hour session that the group had come to the Range to hear their concerns. About 10 people signed up to speak at a session focusing on jobs and economic development, and they were evenly split and equally passionate about mining, especially copper/nickel/precious metals projects on the drawing board.
Proponents of mining said there are hundreds if not thousands of jobs that will be created by nonferrous mining on the East Range. “We are prepared and ready to create jobs like no other industry in the state. We have 10 companies ready to move ahead,” said Frank Ongaro, executive director of MiningMinnesota, which focuses on nonferrous mining.
Bill Travis, president of IDEA Drilling in Virginia, which does exploration work for copper/nickel/precious metals, said the permitting process has gone on far too long for the PolyMet project, which is the farthest along of several nonferrous projects. He said it’s been “an embarrassment to the state” that PolyMet has taken too long.
The PolyMet initiative near Hoyt Lakes is slated for the footprint of the former LTV Mining Co., which closed about 10 years ago, resulting in the loss of 1,400 jobs. Company officials project it will create 360 permanent jobs, at least 500 spin-off positions and 1.5 million hours of construction work. It is currently in the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement process. Environmental review has gone on for more than five years at a cost of more than $20 million to the company.
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Commissioner Paul Aasen said there “is always a question about speed” of permitting. Lt. Gov. Prettner Solon said one of the first executive orders Dayton signed was a measure to speed up the permitting process for projects throughout the state. He also signed into law a bill doing the same that was passed by the Legislature.“The governor shares your views” on expediting the permit process, she said.
State Rep. Tom Rukavina, DFL-Virginia, said mining, including new projects, is vital to the economy of northeastern Minnesota. He said a recent University of Minnesota-Duluth study showed that mining is 35 percent of the entire region’s economy. “We’ve had 130 years of mining and I hope we have 130 more,” he said.
But a harsh critic of any mining, Bob Tammen of Soudan, said the industry produces unhealthy communities. “It creates a lousy economy. We’re within a rifle shot of three taconite plants. But these are not healthy communities here,” he said, pointing out the area has lost population and enrollment in the schools. “In Tower, our school is gone.” Tammen, who testifies often at the Legislature in St. Paul against nonferrous mining, said the permitting process has taken so long for PolyMet for good reasons. He said companies that do copper mining design tailing
ponds so they leak.
After the meeting, Aasen was asked if he believed there are proper and adequate environmental regulations and standards in place in Minnesota for mining. He hesitated for a moment and then said, “A broad brush answer is yes.”
A resident of Morse Township near Ely said the area will not preserve its heritage if copper/nickel mining is allowed to proceed in the region. “I am concerned about the mining effects on our quality of life,” she said. I want a kinder, gentler future for our area,” said Elanne Palcich of Chisholm, who said an effort should be made “to clean up what’s left behind” from other mining “before mining new.”
But Hoyt Lakes Mayor Marlene Pospeck, who was in office when her community was devastated by the loss of LTV, said mining has “sustained this part of northeastern Minnesota” and she doesn’t see copper/nickel mining being detrimental to the area. “Get on with what you need to do as fast as you can,” she said
Mesabi Daily News - Commentary/Opinion - 08/14/2011
Mr. President, jobs are waiting for a go-ahead on the Range; come and tout nonferrous mining.
DFL legislators, IRRRB commissioner, governor, Democratic U.S. senators, Republican U.S. representative: Unify, be vocal.
Here’s what the White House has to say about President Barack
Obama’s three-day Midwest tour that includes a stop in Minnesota.
“While in the Midwest, the president will discuss ways to grow the economy, strengthen the middle class and accelerate hiring in communities and towns across the nation and hear directly
from Americans, including small business owners, local families, private sector leaders, rural organizations and government officials. The president knows we must do everything we can to
promote economic growth, restore confidence in our nation’s future and enhance the sense of optimism for future generations.”
Gee, maybe it would make sense for him to travel to the Iron Range and advocate for the copper/nickel/precious metals mining projects that would create thousands and thousands of jobs that
would “accelerate hiring.”
And maybe he should travel here to tout projects such as PolyMet and Twin Metals that would “promote economic growth.”
If so, he would be helping to “restore confidence” and “enhance the sense of optimism for future generations. Also, in so doing, he would be sending the right message for his “green economy” initiative — after all, these are the metals to be extracted from the ground to make a “green economy” go.
A visit from the president would show his support for real jobs,
American jobs, that are ready, willing and able to go. And if he brought some of the EPA bureaucrats with him, perhaps they
would hear from their boss that the agency needs to move aside and let American jobs on the Iron Range of Minnesota happen.
We strongly encourage DFL Iron Range legislators, DFL Iron Range
Resources & Rehabilitation Board Commissioner Tony Sertich, DFL Gov. Mark Dayton, Democratic U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken and Republican U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack to join together in a letter to the president inviting him up here to celebrate the
great history of mining in Minnesota and to promote what should be a great future of nonferrous ventures.
It’s way past time for all our elected officials to actively and aggressively be visible and vocal advocates for a new era of
mining on the Iron Range. For far too long the voices of anti-mining zealots have not been consistenly countered by our
elected and appointed representatives. Legislators, IRRRB commissioner, governor, U.S. senators, U.S. representative — all of you talk eloquently about the need for more jobs on the Iron Range, in Minnesota, in the country.
Well, here’s your chance to make some noise in unison nationally.
Send such a letter with urgency to the president and we stronly believe you would get air time on network and cable shows and print in major publications.
Be bold. And Mr. President, Minnesota has been strong Democratic country; the Iron Range overwhelmingly Democratic for decades and decades. So why not a little political payback. Come and push
for so many jobs that are oh so close to being realized. You want some favorable attention? Then don a hard hat and let the cameras roll as you champion future mining jobs in Minnesota. Be visionary.
If all of these powerful and influential people are silent or can’t come together in such an effort, then why should an Iron Range public growing weary of the lack of job creation in the area continue to listen to their political rhetoric? Why
indeed.
We anxiously await a response, some kind of response, to what we believe would be a sincere effort to stimulate more jobs on the Iron Range and therefore in Minnesota and the nation.
BP's Former CEO Working for Polymet's Biggest Investor
DULUTH, MN (Northlandsnewscenter) - Environmentalists have been keeping an eye on the proposed Polymet copper, nickel mine in Hoyt Lakes, but now their attention will likely go into over-drive.
A man involved in one of the worst environmental disasters in the nation is now working for the largest investor with Polymet.
If you watched the news at all last summer, you have probably heard of his name, or at least the disaster that led to his removal from oil giant BP.
Tony Hayward was the CEO of British Petroleum until the Gulf Oil Spill.
Fast forward to the present, and it only takes a click of the mouse to find he's now the executive expert in charge of environment and safety for Glencore - one of the biggest commodity traders in the world.
But the company is also the biggest investor in the proposed Polymet's mining operation near Hoyt Lakes.
Glencore has almost 20 percent of Polymet shares and could take up to a quarter of stake in company.
Polymet is still working to get environmental permits to start the mine.
Though it would bring up to 400 jobs to the Iron Range, environmentalists have already gone on record speaking about dangers of sulfide mining.
"St. Louis River has over a hundred mile dead zone for wild rice. I think we should realize there is a connection between the mining on the Mesabi Iron Range and the dead zone in the St. Louis River," said activist Bob Tammen.
Now Tony Hayward's hand in Glencore will only add to the conversation.
A Polymet spokesperson told the Northland's NewsCenter, they cannot speak on behalf of Glencore, but said "Minnesota State law requires up-front financial assurance, which is covered in Polymet's permit to mine."
That is what Glencore will bring to the table.
Tony Hayward has been with the Switzerland based Glencore since mid-April, but the financial agreements between Glencore and Polymet were put into place last Fall.
Letter to the editor - Mesabi Daily News
It’s time to get PolyMet up and running.
Recently Brad Moore, environmental director for PolyMet, gave an update on the proposed
copper/nickel mine near Hoyt Lakes on the former LTV mine site at the Tuesday lunch
meeting in Ely.
It was good to hear Moore state that PolyMet would be adhering to the same environmental
precautions as the taconite mines currently have to follow. These include the lining of tailing basins and the treatment of their waste
water. This is something that has not been mentioned before.
Iron ore and taconite mining have been a big part of northeastern Minnesota’s economy for more than 100 years. The taconite industry alone has an annual economic impact of $3.1
BILLION. Tourism and timber industries are also very important to Minnesota’s economy, but
together they don’t even match the impact of taconite mining.
Over the years, new and better mining technology has been used to assure there is the least harm to our environment and that our
tourism industry doesn’t suffer.
The technology that PolyMet will use is far safer and cleaner than any present mine and it will continue to care for the environment.
The comments at the Tuesday presentation expressed concern about the short-term number of
jobs and that PolyMet’s process has not been done in Minnesota, but it has been used in other parts of the United States.
It has been reported that the Duluth Complex deposits could provide good paying jobs for 100
years. That isn’t short-term. Also, a thousand construction jobs and hundreds of mining jobs along with spin-off jobs in the hundreds.
Comparing a PolyMet mine to the Flambeau Copper Mine in Wisconsin is comparing apple and
oranges. Flambeau had 11 percent copper with 30 percent sulfur, and the NorthMet low grade ore
contains .31 percent copper with low sulfur content of .88 percent.
There was also concern expressed for various watersheds flowing into Lake Superior and the
Boundary Waters, even though there has not been any detriment to these waters with 100 years of
mining in the area. Also mentioned was the financial assurance guaranty for closure of
operations, which are in place and updated annually.
There are numerous projects, and not just in mining, that have had environmental violations.
Minnesota’s PCA imposes fines and demands a correction to the problem.
The push for “green energy” and “green jobs” include massive amounts of minerals that are
mined. Electric cars with their batteries, wind turbines, solar panels, and all the new electronic technology that we all use and are
not willing to give up, all require the minerals mined in northeast Minnesota.
The most ideal place to mine copper and nickel may be Arizona, as mentioned at the Tuesday
gathering, but the mineral deposits aren’t in Arizona. They are here in northern Minnesota, and we can be grateful that Minnesota has
some of the strictest environmental and pollution regulations in the country.
A healthy community does not have decreasing school enrollments, failing nursing homes
and hospitals, empty storefronts, and crumbling infrastructure. We need good paying jobs that bring young families to our communities.
There are numerous projects ‘that have never been done before” in Minnesota. Look at the NOvA project up at Ash River, 1,000 feet from the river which flows into Lake Kabetogama
about 2.8 miles away. It is one mile from Voyageurs National Park. This project has never been done anywhere in the world and it is definitely short-term — for about 10 years with five full-time jobs. The usage of 4.2 million
gallons of mineral oil (a highly flammable substance) for the neutrino detector hasn’t raise a single concern from environmental
groups. The state didn’t even require an EIS.
It has been reported that there may not be any practical use for the knowledge gathered from the NOvA project. This project is funded with our tax dollars! NOvA is an important physics
project that may lead to new energy sources, but until that time, we will continue to use coal, gas and oil as our major energy sources.
In the case of PolyMet and the other proposed mining projects, caring for the environment must
be based on the best available scientific data, objective analysis, and broad public input on the part of government agencies and elected officials when making and implementing land management and environmental policies.
It’s time to get PolyMet up and running.
Nancy McReady
Ely
(Personal opinion, not speaking for CWCS)
Brad Moore - Polymet Appeal To "Master Court".
If you go to the website below, you can see Brad Moore make Polymet's appeal to the "Master Court". His appeal was made at 3:20 PM.
www.theuptake.org/2011/07/07/mining-transportation
Shutdown delays environmental review of mine project
By Stephanie Hemphill, Minnesota Public Radio
July 6, 2011
St. Paul, Minn. — Polymet Mining company will ask a Special Master to declare that state officials working on an environmental review of its proposed copper-nickel mine should be allowed to go back to work.
The Environmental Impact Statement, or EIS, for the project has been underway for more than five years.
Polymet Mining lobbyist Joe Samargia says the company is required to pay for the study, and has contracts with the Department of Natural Resources and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to do some of the work. About 10 employees from those agencies are needed to keep the project on track.
"The project is being hindered by the fact that these people are not working along with the contractors so we can complete this EIS by the fall," he said.
Samargia compares the situation to the Minnesota Zoo, which was allowed to reopen when it showed it had enough budget reserves to continue operating.
"Polymet has a contract with the DNR, the money is in place, it has no state funding, it's all private sector money," said Samargia. "We should be able to have these DNR people work on this project because it's separate from the state funding."
The proposed northeastern Minnesota mine is projected to provide nearly 400 jobs. Samargia says the company has already spent $30 million on the EIS.
Cooperation Improving on PolyMet
From TV Station WDIO.com
On Monday, the state and federal agencies working on PolyMet permitting met in Duluth, for the second roundtable discussion called by Congressman Chip Cravaack.
The first one was in March.
And since that time, Cravaack and our state leaders said that communication is improving.
At one point, the federal Environmental Protection Agency seemed critical of what permitting work had been done so far on the base and precious metals project. Now, the relationships are building between the people who are working on PolyMet.
"The biggest thing that came out today, was that the EPA and the state have decided they need to have a solid environmental document, that will stand up in court," Rep. Cravaack said.
It's likely that environmental groups will sue once permitting is approved, according to leaders on both levels.
As for the looming government shutdown, work can still continue on the project. "Private contractors can still work, along with PolyMet and the federal agencies," said Senator Dave Tomassoni, of Chisholm.
"I don't see a shutdown affecting the project too much, since it's already been a very slow process," added Rep. Tom Rukavina.
PolyMet has been under environmental review since 2004.
The company expects to have its supplemental draft EIS out this fall, which will be up for public comment. PolyMet plans on mining base and precious metals near Babbitt, and processing them in Hoyt Lakes.
PolyMet reveals mixed financial news
BusinessNorth
5/31/2011
In its annual report, PolyMet Mining Co. revealed mixed news about the company’s financial future.
The Canadian firm, which hopes to mine the NorthMet copper, nickel, precious minerals deposit, there said there are financial obstacles “that cast significant doubt” on its ability to continue as a going concern.
Based on the underlying value of the project, however, company officials said they anticipate existing or outside investors will come forward with additional equity.
“The company has incurred losses since inception and has an accumulated deficit of $78,832,000 at January 31, 2011,” PolyMet said in the notes addendum to its financial statements. “PolyMet Mining Corp. will need to raise sufficient funds to meet its current obligations as well as fund ongoing development, capital expenditures and administration expenses, in accordance with the company’s spending plans for the next year.”
PolyMet previously announced an agreement to sell a $30 million private placement to the Swiss firm Glencore AG. Completion of that deal was to occur in three separate phases. To meet all of its financial obligations, including repayment of long term debt, all three must conclude by January 2012, or the firm will have to investigate other alternatives.
Management said it’s in the latter stage of discussions with Glencore and believes an agreement will be reached by June 30, providing $20 million in equity funding to meet financial obligations.
PolyMet Updates Status of Environmental Review
HOYT LAKES, MINNESOTA--(Marketwire - 05/31/11) PolyMet Mining Corp. (TSX:POM - News)(AMEX:PLM - News) ("PolyMet" or the "Company") reported today on the status of the environmental review of its NorthMet copper-nickel-precious metals project located in northeastern Minnesota.
The air, wetlands and geotechnical modeling and evaluations required for the supplemental draft Environmental Impact Statement ("EIS") are now well defined and modeling has started.
Finalization of input parameters for water modeling is underway. The water models have been constructed to the extent possible so that model runs can begin soon after these input parameters are finalized.
The overall schedule to publish the supplemental draft EIS in the fall of 2011 is intact but does require finalization of the groundwater modeling parameters in the near future. The lead agencies - Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR), US Forest Services (USFS) and US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) - are working diligently with other government agencies, including the US Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA"), to prepare the supplemental draft EIS.
In separate news, the Company confirmed today the auditors' report received from its independent public accounting firm on its audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2011 (the "Annual Financial Statements") contained an "Emphasis of Matter" disclosure in connection with a going concern explanatory note. PolyMet's Annual Financial Statements were included in its Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The going concern note stated that, "In order to meet all of its obligations for the period to January 31, 2012, including paying off the current portion of its long-term debt, PolyMet Mining Corp. will have to successfully receive all of the remaining equity tranches (from Glencore), or obtain alternative financing.
Management is in the latter stage of discussions with Glencore with respect to the budget and believes that agreement will be reached by June 30, 2011, which will enable the Company to access the second and third $10 million tranches of the equity funding in a timely manner that will enable it to meet its obligations."
CalciTech Credit Facility Extended with Share and Debenture Conversion.
Press Release Source: CalciTech Ltd. On Friday May 27, 2011, 9:30 am EDT
GENEVA--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- CalciTech Ltd. (OTCBB:CLKTF.ob - News) CalciTech announces that Epsom Asset Management Ltd., who has assisted the funding of the Company for a number of years, has agreed to convert USD 2.3 million of its outstanding working capital credit facility as at 31st December 2010. USD 1 million has been converted into the new series of notes announced in April 2010 and the balance of USD 1.3 million into the Company’s common shares at a price of USD 0.085 per share, resulting in the issue of 15,294,118 shares. Epsom have further extended this facility until 31st August 2012.
Roger Leopard, CalciTech CEO, stated, "We are delighted with Epsom having agreed to a further conversion into the new series of convertible notes and common shares, and extension to the repayment date of the working capital credit facility, which provides us with sufficient working capital for the coming year."
Wonderful information Maxine G - THANKS!
Very interesting - I feel much better about my investment now. I especially like:
"The opportunity arises following the decision of US parent CalciTech Synthetic Minerals Ltd. to exploit the technology it has developed through a series of global joint venture companies (each with a defined area) rather than through the parent company itself."
I need to keep reminding myself that CalciTech could sell CSME for a wonderful profit and still have multiple "global joint venture companies" up and profitably running!
I think I will be adding more shares soon! Thanks again!
I agree with you Maxine G.
Hi Maxine G.
I agree with your thoughts and feel that your preference has an outstanding chance of happening.
If I remember correctly, Roger Leopard thinks highly of his investors and remains very appreciative of those that have stayed (or added to their shares) for the "long haul". Whatever he decides to do, I am sure that the "overall value" to his shareholders will be of upmost importance to him!
"Clearly then you should expect to receive future dividends, and your potential exit would be upon Calcitech selling CSM Ltd (The IP)"
Hi Maxine G:
Thanks for the information, very revealing!
With the above statement from Nick in mind, do you interpret this to mean that once this occurs, Calcitech is no more, or?
I would think this may be many years in the future, after shareholders receive "substantial dividends" - sure sounds nice!
Thanks Maxine G
I appreciate you getting clarification from CalciTech on the last info that we received. The information given is not how I originally interpreted the news. I am pleased that you received a reply so quickly - much better PR with Nick on board.
For some reason, I don't fully understand how we will make any money as CalciTech shareholders, with CSM and CSME in the picture. Also, "CURRENTLY wholly owned" by CalciTech Ltd., makes me nervous!
I hope I live long enough to see all this play out for those of us who own so many shares!
CalciTech Secures Funding on Project to Recycle Minerals in Waste Paper
GENEVA, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- CalciTech Ltd. (OTCBB:CLKTF.ob - News)
CalciTech is pleased to announce that it has secured the next stage of funding for this key project. The project is also promoted by the Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Technologie (German Federal Ministry for Research and Technology) with a financial grant.
This project was launched in Summer 2010 with the participation of two leading research institutes, PTS in Munich and VDZ in Düsseldorf as well as the largest paper and cement companies in Europe: Stora Enso and Heidelberg Cement.
The aim of the project is to optimise CalciTech's process for converting the waste stream from recycled paper production into commercially valuable Synthetic Calcium Carbonate (SCC) and Sustainable Metakaolin (SMK).
This project has now passed its first milestones successfully which triggers the next phase of funding. The project is expected to be completed by the middle of 2012.