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Supporters of mining in northeastern Minnesota held a rally Tuesday to demand the U.S. Forest Service move an upcoming public meeting on the renewal of two controversial mining leases from Duluth to the Iron Range. 

 it was "deeply concerned" by the location of the two leases, located just outside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, and that it "is considering withholding consent for lease renewal."


The Forest Service also announced a 30-day public input period that began June 20 and scheduled a listening session in Duluth for July 13. 


But at a press conference Tuesday in Virginia, Minn., several elected officials, including northeastern Minnesota U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan, called for a hearing closer to the people who would be most affected by the lease renewal decision. 


"The simple message for the U.S. Forest Service here today," said Nolan, "is if you're going to have a listening session, then have it in the community where the people who are affected by it [live]. That's what this is all about."
 

"Get the dang meeting up to Ely," implored Ely Mayor Chuck Novak. 


The mineral leases are located about 10 miles southeast of Ely and are held by the company Twin Metals Minnesota, which has explored the area for copper, nickel and precious metals for the past several years. 


"We have people who work during the day," said Novak. "How are they going to get [to Duluth] in time?"


Minnesota Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken also wrote a joint letter with fellow Democrat Nolan Tuesday to U.S. Forest Service chief Tom Tidwell.
  

"We believe it is important that interested stakeholders are able to voice their opinions," the letter states, "and holding a public comment and listening session on the Iron Range will ensure that a diversity of views are reflected."
 

The Forest Service chose Duluth for the listening session because it is more accessible to people both on the Iron Range and in the Twin Cities, explained Superior National Forest Spokeswoman Kris Reichenbach. The agency determined that time and resource constraints allowed for only one meeting. 

Reichenbach also stressed the meeting will be streamed on-line, "and that input may also be submitted via email or written letter and that none of the three modes of input holds more weight than the others."  

 a vote," Reichenbach added. The Forest Service says a final determination on consent has not been made. 

But in announcing the 30-day public input period, the agency said it's concerned "by the inherent risks associated with potential copper, nickel and other sulfide mining operations" within the Boundary Waters watershed. 


The mineral leases are under the authority of the Bureau of Land Management. But the U.S. Forest Service's approval is also required, because that agency controls the surface rights to the land where the leases are located in the Superior National Forest. 


The leases were first granted 50 years ago this month to the International Nickel Company. The leases have changed hands over the years. Now they're controlled by Twin Metals Minnesota and its parent company, the Chilean mining conglomerate Antofagasta. 

Expired mineral leases latest flashpoint over mining near Boundary Waters

In a "pre-feasibility" study released in 2014, the company laid out tentative plans for an underground mine likened to a "small city" that would cost nearly $3 billion to build, would operate for 30 years and employ about 850 people. 


At one point Twin Metals employed 54 people in Ely, said Novak, the mayor. "We're down to a handful right now because of the impediments that keep coming forward."
 

Environmental groups that oppose mining in the watershed that flows into the Boundary Waters say the leases were first approved before federal environmental laws were passed and have never undergone a rigorous environmental review process. 


They argue a review of potential negative impacts of mining near the nation's most popular wilderness should be conducted before the issuance of any lease or other rights to mine. 


Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton has also announced he opposes mining near the Boundary Waters, although he's also conceded he doesn't have the power to stop mining on federal land. 

 
Twin Metals has said the Forest Service's statement that it is considering withholding consent for lease renewal is based on "general and arbitrary concerns about potential environmental impacts related to mining in the region." 


That "suggests a disturbing predisposition or bias in opposition to granting renewal of TMM's mineral leases, even before the agency conducts its announced public process," the company says.
 

St. Louis County Commissioner Tom Rukavina echoed that sentiment at the rally Tuesday.
 

"I'm deeply concerned that bureaucrats who have no election certificate would put out such a biased press release," he said. 

 period on Twin Metals' mineral lease renewal applications runs through July 20.

Dan Kraker

Author

Supporters of mining in northeastern Minnesota held a rally Tuesday to demand the U.S. Forest Service move an upcoming public meeting on the renewal of two controversial mining leases from Duluth to the Iron Range.

Iron Range rally urges mining lease hearing moved closer to home

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