HOYT LAKES — After years of minimal activity, one of three proposed copper-nickel mines in Minnesota is back with a new name and a new plan.
NewRange Copper Nickel formally notified the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources on Wednesday, July 29, of proposed changes to its NorthMet project design.
The project is better known by the name of the company that first proposed it: PolyMet. Permits were issued for the project in 2018, but it has remained tied up in litigation since then, and no mining has happened.
The primary changes are to the project's water management, waste storage and transportation. Ore production would increase from 32,000 tons per day to 40,000, and the mine's lifespan would decrease from 20 years to 16.
The aim — to extract copper, nickel, cobalt and platinum group metals — remains unchanged, as does the project footprint: an open-pit mine 6 miles south of Babbitt, a processing plant at the former LTV plant 6 miles north of Hoyt Lakes and an 8-mile transportation corridor between them.
NewRange said the changes or "enhancements" significantly reduce water discharge and "support long-term environmental performance."
Environmental advocates have argued the redesign is an acknowledgement that PolyMet's original proposal was flawed.
The DNR said it will decide within a month if the changes require additional environmental review. On Wednesday, Assistant Commissioner Jess Richards said to the media that it's too soon to speculate on a timeline for next steps, but more information will be available once the environmental review process begins.
"DNR is committed to a transparent and rigorous independent review process that will be science-based and will keep Minnesotans informed along the way as we evaluate this as we go forward," Richards said.
"We're really at just the early stages of this now."
Background
NorthMet has been in development for over two decades.
It was first proposed by PolyMet, a subsidiary of multinational mining company Glencore. NewRange, a joint venture between PolyMet and Canadian company Teck Resources, is now behind the project.
NewRange says its project would strengthen U.S. energy and national security by creating a domestic supply of minerals used in power grid infrastructure, advanced manufacturing and modern technologies, like data centers, batteries and medical devices.
In 2024, NewRange announced it would begin working on changes to the NorthMet project.
About a year later, the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy said it was preparing for the "next phase of the PolyMet fight," outlining its and other advocates' concerns about the project and its past legal challenges.
NewRange's proposed changes
One of the biggest changes would be how NewRange would manage its tailings or waste, one of the most controversial parts of the original project. Rather than using the old LTV tailings basin, NewRange would store waste in pits previously mined for iron ore.
NewRange says the change would minimize land disturbance and reclaim previously mined areas, while reducing the environmental risk. It also said it will remove the majority of naturally occurring sulfur during processing.
The company also claims its new closed-loop water management plan will reduce discharge of water by up to 75%, compared to the previous design. Nearby former iron mine pits would be used as basins, holding excess water during wet periods and providing process water during dry ones, reducing the need to import water.
The final change highlighted by NewRange is how material will move from the mine to the processing plant. Rather than using rail, material would be transported by an 8-mile covered conveyor belt.
NewRange maintains that its original plans meet all permitting requirements, a sentiment echoed by industry group MiningMinnesota on Wednesday.
"NewRange's updated NorthMet design shows Minnesota's environmental review and permitting process working as intended — allowing science, engineering and public input to refine a project as new information emerges," said Executive Director Julie Lucas in an email statement.
A request for comment from NewRange was not returned as of Friday. The company is accepting feedback on the proposed changes on its website.
Environmental advocates are framing this as a repackaged, second run at getting the project off the ground.
"PolyMet/NewRange is not making these changes out of the goodness of their heart, right?" said Joy Anderson, Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy legal director, in an interview Thursday. "They are making these because their previous plans were determined by Minnesota courts to be illegal."
Anderson said the main concern is what happens when rocks and minerals containing sulfide are exposed to water and air, creating sulfuric acid, which can leach heavy metals from the rock. She said that can continue to happen in the waste piles, too. When this acidic water leaches from mines, it's called acid mine drainage.
"You have to take care of it [the mine site] forever," she said. "Obviously, if that gets into groundwater, if that gets into surface water, it's devastating to the entire ecosystem."
Next steps
MCEA is urging supporters to lobby the DNR to start the environmental review over from square one.
The environmental review for the project was completed in 2016; Assistant Commissioner Richards noted the review was not challenged and said it provides a "good baseline of science and analysis."
Right now, the DNR is considering whether NewRange's proposed changes merit a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement. If the DNR determines an SEIS is needed, it would go on public notice with at least one public meeting.
"With NewRange's proposed changes, there clearly would need to be some sort of permit amendments or changes or new permits," Richards said. "We haven't decided what those would be yet. The first step ... is really to figure out what type of environmental review is necessary for the project.
"... 'Cause that environmental review process is the process that helps inform permitting decisions. It provides the science that you feed into the permitting system."
