Projects

The NorthMet Project will be the first copper, nickel and precious metals mine in the Duluth Complex, which contains 95% of America’s nickel and more than 33% of our copper. These minerals are critical for everything from building construction and military equipment to consumer electronics batteries. The project will extensively reuse mining, processing, power and building infrastructure to minimize environmental and land use. It has the most water and wetland monitoring in place of any mining project and will clean up water quality issues from legacy iron ore mining and processing, leading to net environmental benefits to the watershed. NorthMet also represents a major economic opportunity for Northeast Minnesota. NewRange will invest over $1 billion to responsibly develop this project, resulting in hundreds of construction jobs and 360 full-time operations jobs and about $64 million in local, state and federal taxes annually, which helps fund local schools and emergency services.

This project is currently awaiting legal and regulatory resolution for project approval, after a comprehensive federal and state environmental review and permitting process, including a federal land exchange and considerable public involvement. MiningMinnesota stands with NewRange and trusts the company to operate safely and responsibly, in accordance with its permits.

Twin Metals Minnesota will explore underground mining in the Duluth Complex’s Maturi Deposit. The project is located in a designated area within the Superior National Forest, and the company has made commitments to mining responsibly by maintaining a small surface footprint, dry, non-acid generating tailings storage, advanced water management, carbon sequestration, and plans to reclaim the area with native vegetation after project closure.

Twin Metals has also made significant investments in the electrification of its mining and support vehicle fleets. Using electric vehicles during mine production will allow Twin Metals to reduce onsite greenhouse gas emissions by 65% – this is the very definition of responsible mining, and we’re proud that this innovative work is fueling the next generation of mining in Minnesota.

MiningMinnesota supports Twin Metals’ efforts to revitalize the region and support renewable energy infrastructure growth with an innovative approach to underground mining. Twin Metals’ 10+ years of research and study has revealed a specific, narrow band of mineral resources that Twin Metals plans to extract surgically, minimizing environmental impacts and pushing the industry toward more strategic and sustainable mining methods.

Talon Metals Corporation’s Tamarack Project is a proposed nickel-copper-cobalt project. As the Eagle Mine operation in Michigan approaches end-of-life and demand for nickel in EV batteries continues to increase, securing a domestic source of nickel is essential.

Talon has been exploring the Tamarack Intrusive Complex in an effort to meet growing demand for domestically-produced nickel. Located in central Minnesota and with access to major intercontinental rail networks, Talon Metals’ operation is ideally situated to strengthen domestic supply chains, keeping EV battery production within the United States from start to finish.

In July 2021, Talon entered into an MOU with the United Steelworkers, and in January 2022, Talon signed an agreement to supply Tesla with 75,000 metric tonnes (165 million lbs.) of responsibly produced nickel-in-concentrate in 2026-2032.

MiningMinnesota looks forward to advocating for Talon and the Tamarack Project as the company proceeds through the environmental review process.

The Mesaba deposit, also located in the Duluth Complex near the NorthMet Project, is one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper-nickel and platinum group metal resources and has the potential for multi-generational production. While baseline studies are underway and further studies and consultations are needed, future potential development includes evaluation of existing infrastructure to minimize Mesaba’s environmental footprint. As with NorthMet, Mesaba ore presents future opportunities to process products on site using hydromet technology. Mesaba represents a future strategic metal resource for North America at a time when domestic supplies are not enough to keep up with soaring demand, resulting on foreign reliance and diminished global competitiveness. Mesaba, and NorthMet, will help NewRange position Minnesota as a world leader in responsible mineral resource development, building on the Iron Range’s past to create a positive legacy for generations to come.

Pulsar Helium’s Topaz Project located in Lake County, Minnesota is one of the world’s highest-content helium occurrences and was discovered in 2011 during unrelated mineral exploration. Helium is an essential ingredient for space exploration, semiconductor chip manufacturing, medical magnetic resonance imagery (MRI), and many other modern technologies. In recent years, the technology and medical industries have been impacted by supply interruptions as the global supply of helium has been unable to meet the demands of these critical industries.

MiningMinnesota looks forward to supporting Pulsar Helium as it continues its exploration and appraisal efforts in northern Minnesota and in legislative efforts as new rules for a gas regulatory framework are written and adopted by the State of Minnesota.