Sulfide Mine project for heavy metals Nickel and Copper

[DanH]

This isn’t directly about fishing, (and hopefully it never will be) but if you own property, vacation, hunt or fish in or around the Big Sandy watershed area, as I have for the past 40 years you may be interested in this topic.

I recently learned about a sulfide mine project for heavy metals Nickel and Copper just N of Tamarack. The term sulfide mining comes from the fact that copper and nickel are most frequently found in rock high in sulfur content. When the sulfur is exposed to air and water, sulfuric acid is produced. My understanding is that this sulfide mine project is in the exploration phase with work being done by foreign owned Rio Tinto through Kennecott Minerals Company, headquartered in Utah.

I found it interesting that a public hearing to obtain a conditional use permit for a sulfide mine project in Minnesota is not required when the project is on State owned land. Apparently, only the DNR needs to be involved in such decisions, as the DNR is the state agency that grants leases for mineral rights on state land.

The links below are about the project. The first link shows that the Tamarack South project has survived Rio Tinto’s 2009 budget cuts and remains a high priority on their corporate radar. The second link is the fact sheet published by Rio Tinto.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=conewsstory&refer=conews&tkr=RIO%3ALN&sid=aC_yW6kpBQ2E

http://www.riotinto.com/documents/Tamarack_Final_2009.pdf

[Bigbartguy]

Dan,

thanks for the post. It's good to know what's going on up there. I hadnt heard of this

[UdeLakeTom]

There has been much discussion in the Aitkin Age and the McGregor Voyaguer on the subject for the last couple of years.