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AURORA, Minn.

Photos: At PolyMet, ramping up to mine copper

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A rod mill inside the concentrator building
A rod mill inside the concentrator building Thursday, Oct. 10, 2013 at the PolyMet facility near Aurora, Minn. The rod mills are machines filled with rods of various size that are used to further crush rock during the extraction process.
Derek Montgomery / For MPR News

PolyMet Mining has been working for years to demonstrate its plan would avoid scenarios that infuriate environmentalists. The latest study on how an open pit copper-nickel mine could change the landscape just north of the town of Hoyt Lakes will be released Friday in a 1,800-page environmental impact statement. More: PolyMet copper-nickel mine: Economic opportunity or too environmentally risky?"

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Dean Peterson, Sr. VP for Exploration
Dean Peterson, Senior Vice President for Exploration at Duluth Metals, stands next to the cover to a test shaft sunk by International Nickel Company Friday, Sept. 27, 2013 near Ely, Minn. The shaft was sunk decades ago into the Maturi copper nickel deposit. While all that is visible is a small cap, it widens into a much larger shaft that can fit a person just a few feet underground.
Derek Montgomery / For MPR News
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A rod mill
A rod mill inside the concentrator building Thursday, Oct. 10, 2013 at the PolyMet facility near Aurora, Minn. The rod mills are machines filled with rods of various size that are used to further crush rock during the extraction process.
Derek Montgomery / For MPR News
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CEO Jon Cherry
PolyMet CEO Jon Cherry talks about the condition of infrastructure inside the concentrator building on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2013 near Aurora, Minn.
Derek Montgomery / For MPR News