EMILY — An open house and panel discussion covering the exploration of manganese deposits in Emily will take place Tuesday, Aug. 15.
The city of Emily is hosting the event. An open house in the gymnasium at Emily City Hall will be 2-6 p.m., featuring the Emily City Council, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota Department of Health-Well Management, Electric Metals (North Star Manganese), Crow Wing Power, Emily Mine Information Group and Carlton Group.
A panel discussion will follow 6:30-9 p.m. The open house attendees are invited to participate, although a news release from the city noted City Council members and representatives from the DNR will not be among them.
Exploratory drilling at the site — reported to be the highest-grade manganese resource in North America — resumed in February, according to the Brainerd Dispatch. Manganese is a naturally occurring metallic element used to harden steel. It’s also used in the production of batteries, the demand for which continues to increase as electric vehicles rise in popularity.
The presence of manganese near Emily has been known for decades, and exploratory drilling took place there before. The project has sparked controversy in its past as well, particularly its ties to executives at electrical cooperative Crow Wing Power. These executives have royalty stakes in any future mining activity on the property, and some opponents argued this was a conflict of interest, according to coverage by the Brainerd Dispatch.
Nevada Silver Corp. has 100% ownership and management of the project and leases the property from Crow Wing Power.
The project caught the attention of former Gov. Arne Carlson, who’s been forthright in his opposition to the proposed PolyMet mine in Hoyt Lakes. Carlson penned an open letter to Emily residents expected to be distributed at the open house, warning of potential efforts to “hide the risk of illegal water pollution from the public eye.”
The former Republic governor, who now considers himself an independent, pointed to a recent Minnesota Supreme Court ruling accusing the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency of concealing U.S. Environmental Protection Agency warnings when it came to the Polymet project.
“Here, in Minnesota, our most basic need for survival, healthy drinking water, is under attack from foreign mining conglomerates with shabby records,” Carlson wrote, calling for a moratorium on all mining permits in the state until a series of reforms are in place.
