NorthMet
NorthMet is a proposed sulfide mine between Hoyt Lakes and Babbitt Minnesota. It would bulldoze acres of forest and wetlands, and try to contain millions of 
gallons of sulfuric waste in an old holding pond left over from a defunct iron mine.
NorthMet is a project owned by a company called NewRange Copper Nickel, which in turn is 50% owned by Glencore, the global criminal mining corporation, and 50% owned by Canadian mining giant Teck.
Over the past decade NorthMet has been awarded several permits to mine, but they have almost all been overturned by the courts. It remains to be seen whether NorthMet will ever mine an ounce of copper or nickel. See here for an in-depth report by Threatened Waters on the NorthMet project.
NorthMet in the news
| November 28, 2024 |
| Minnesota DNR hits pause on NorthMet (PolyMet) copper-nickel mine permit review |
| A decision on whether to reissue a permit to mine for the company vying to open Minnesota’s first copper-nickel mine is on hold after the company behind it said it is studying potential changes to the controversial project’s design. |
| www.twincities.com |
| November 27, 2024 |
| Minnesota DNR suspends review of PolyMet mine project |
| The Minnesota DNR recently announced it will suspend its review of the PolyMet copper-nickel sulfide permit until late next year. |
| queticosuperior.org |
| November 25, 2024 |
| Minnesota DNR delays decision on key proposed copper-nickel mine permit |
| The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has delayed a decision until late next year on a key permit for the proposed NewRange Copper Nickel project in northeastern Minnesota, the mine formerly known as PolyMet. The company called the agency’s decision “unfortunate.” |
| www.mprnews.org |
| August 30, 2024 |
| Council gets update on New Range project |
| The Babbitt city council received an update on the New Range Copper Nickel Project. Simon Charter, the company’s Community and Social Performance Manager spoke at a lengthy meeting on Aug. 20. He said the big change for the company is that it is now a joint venture with Teck and Glencore “two giants in the mining industry.” “Tech brought the Mesaba project here in your backyard to the table and Glencore brought PolyMet,” said Charter. “So we’re now this 50-50 joint venture between Tech and Glencore.” He said the company has taken a step back to take a new look at the project “to look at how we can strengthen this project, how we’re going to get it across the finish line.” |
| www.elyecho.com |
| August 14, 2024 |
| Developers of stalled Minnesota copper-nickel mine plan studies that may lead to significant changes |
| The developers of a long-delayed copper-nickel mining project in northeastern Minnesota have announced plans for a series of studies over the next year on potential ways to improve environmental safeguards and make the mine more cost- and energy-efficient. |
| apnews.com |
| June 20, 2024 |
| Foreign corporations are vying to mine copper and nickel on the cheap in northeastern Minnesota |
| A 2021 decision by the Minnesota Supreme Court has given the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) a perfect opportunity to drive a stake in the most procedurally advanced - and potentially dangerous - proposed sulfide mine in the state. Will it finally take an off ramp? |
| threatenedwaters.com |
| April 19, 2024 |
| Tailings dam design could change, NewRange tells tribal nations |
| The company said it hadn't abandoned earlier plans, the focus of a Minnesota DNR review on whether the mining permit should be denied. |
| www.duluthnewstribune.com |
| December 23, 2023 |
| Former Gov. Arne Carlson and environmentalists lambaste Walz, other state leaders |
| Former Gov. Arne Carlson and environmental groups lambasted Minnesota's political leaders last week, contending that they are listening to foreign mining interests instead of voters when it comes to protecting the state's waters. |
| www.echopress.com |
| December 19, 2023 |
| Minnesota court backs major permit for proposed NewRange (PolyMet) copper-nickel mine |
| It was a win for NewRange Copper Nickel, which remains stalled by court and regulatory setbacks. |
| www.twincities.com |
| November 29, 2023 |
| Minnesota judge recommends denying mining permit at proposed NorthMet copper-nickel mine |
| HOYT LAKES, MN. (Northern News Now) - A proposed copper-nickel mine on the Iron Range has hit another setback. On Tuesday, a Minnesota state judge recommended the Minnesota DNR deny the key mining permit for the NorthMet copper-nickel mine in Hoyt Lakes, which is what the facility needs to operate. In the ruling, the judge said the mine’s proposed method of storing reactive waste was not practical or workable. This is the latest setback for the proposed mine which is owned by NewRange, a joint venture between the company formerly known as Polymet Mining Inc. and Canadian mining company Teck. |
| www.northernnewsnow.com |
| November 29, 2023 |
| Proposed NewRange copper-nickel mine in Minnesota suffers fresh setback on top of years of delays |
| Administrative Law Judge James LaFave said in a ruling Tuesday that the design for the mine's waste basin won’t adequately prevent water pollution. |
| www.kare11.com |
| November 29, 2023 |
| ALJ deals another blow to PolyMet - The Timberjay |
| ST. PAUL— In yet another major blow for the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine near Hoyt Lakes, an administrative law judge is recommending that the Department of Natural Resources deny the … |
| www.timberjay.com |
| November 28, 2023 |
| Judge recommends DNR deny NorthMet permit to mine |
| In a non-binding opinion, an administrative law judge said adding bentonite clay to the mine-waste slurry and lining the tailings basin with bentonite was impractical and would not meet state law. |
| www.duluthnewstribune.com |
| November 1, 2023 |
| PolyMet shareholders OK Glencore takeover |
| Pending final approvals, the Swiss mining giant will buy all remaining shares in the company, which hopes to open the state's first copper-nickel mine, and take it private. |
| www.duluthnewstribune.com |
| August 2, 2023 |
| MPCA was 'arbitrary and capricious' in granting PolyMet permit, Supreme Court rules - Minnesota Reformer |
| The Minnesota Supreme Court dealt a serious setback to the long-planned PolyMet project to mine copper from a Hoyt Lakes deposit near the old LTV Steel plant, which would be used to process the ore. The ruling directs the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to reopen the permitting process and “remedy the procedural irregularities and resulting […] |
| minnesotareformer.com |
| August 2, 2023 |
| Minnesota Supreme Court deals another setback to proposed NorthMet mine |
| The Minnesota Supreme Court has dealt another blow to the proposed NorthMet copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota, sending a key water quality permit back to state regulators for additional work. |
| www.mprnews.org |
| June 16, 2023 |
| U.S. Army Corps' PolyMet decision presents an opportunity on climate - Minnesota Reformer |
| For years, advocates for copper-nickel mining have simultaneously pushed for coal-fired electricity. |
| minnesotareformer.com |
| June 6, 2023 |
| U.S. Army Corps revokes key NorthMet copper nickel mining permit |
| The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has revoked a key permit for the proposed NorthMet copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota, formerly known as the PolyMet project, dealing a serious blow to the controversial project. |
| www.mprnews.org |
| June 6, 2023 |
| U.S. Army Corps revokes permit for NorthMet Mine, previously known as Polymet |
| This comes a few months after PolyMet and Teck American, Inc. partnered to become NewRange. |
| www.northernnewsnow.com |
| March 2, 2023 |
| Protecting Minnesota from PolyMet’s dangerous mine and dam |
| Since 2018, MCEA has been in court challenging the DNR’s decision to issue Dam Safety Permits and a Permit to Mine to PolyMet Mining, because the permits violate Minnesota law and fail to protect downstream communities, and because the DNR has denied important processes to downstream communities. |
| www.mncenter.org |
| January 1, 2023 |
| St Louis River: A Superior waterway |
| St Louis River Superior Waterway The call of the wild may be no stronger anywhere in the lower 48 than the headwaters of the St. Louis River. Beginning in the Laurentian Uplands, where small streams divide in three directions toward Hudson Bay, Lake Superior, and the Mississippi River, it’s a land of timber wolves, moose, […] |
| www.americanrivers.org |
| April 7, 2021 |
| Fond du Lac Band court victory helps all Minnesotans concerned with clean water |
| The PolyMet ruling forces EPA, MPCA to do their jobs The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa won a big court victory in February in its ongoing effort to stop multinational corporate giant Glencore from building the PolyMet copper mine upstream from its reservation. The Band has significant and legitimate concerns that the… |
| healingmnstories.wordpress.com |
| April 17, 2020 |
| A Tale of Two Mine Plans |
| Expansion plans like these are nothing new to the industry. In fact, they are commonplace, and after-the-fact mine expansions are one of the root causes of mining disasters. |
| www.mncenter.org |
