What you need to know about the sulfide mine threatening Minnesota’s Mississippi River watershed

In a water-rich area two hours north of the Twin Cities, international corporations are trying to open a type of mine notorious for contaminating water. 

Talon Metals Corp.’s copper-nickel mining proposal is now moving through the state’s environmental review process, a critical undertaking to identify and assess how the sulfide-mine would impact nearby natural resources and community members.

With an unbroken track record of polluting water, sulfide mining is considered one of the world's most toxic industries. Its pollution is particularly hard to contain in watery landscapes. 

Now, for the first time, Minnesotans can weigh in on Talon’s proposal through a public comment period the DNR is holding through September 14th. 

Our collective participation is one of the most important ways for Minnesotans to influence how our state protects clean water, downstream communities, and Tribal resources.  

Here’s what you need to know about the proposal and how to take action: 

1. A nickel mine in Minnesota: Talon Metals Corp., in partnership with the international mining giant Rio Tinto, is proposing to build an underground nickel mine in Tamarack, Minnesota. The company is primarily after nickel, but also copper and cobalt. After digging up ore from the mine, some 4,000 tons would reportedly be transported daily by boat or rail to a yet-to-be-determined processing facility in North Dakota or Michigan. There, the ore would be processed and sorted into metals and waste. The waste rock - material that contains pollutants but not enough metal to process - will stay in Minnesota.
2. Lakes, rivers, and wild rice at risk: Tamarack is a small town in eastern Aitkin County that sits inside both the Mississippi River and St. Croix watersheds. The proposed mining site is within the ceded territory of the Treaty of 1855, less than two miles from the homes and wells of members of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe community. It’s also near Round Lake and Sandy Lake, the latter of which has one of the richest and most important wild rice beds harvested by the Mille Lacs Band. Ninety percent of the area targeted by the mine sits beneath wetlands, peat bogs, and lakes. 
3. Sulfide mining has an unbroken record of water pollution: Sulfide mining is different from the taconite mining that has employed generations of people living in Northern Minnesota. The nickel and other minerals sought are encased in sulfide ores, which, when exposed to water and air, create a battery acid-like pollution that can leave water contaminated for centuries, harming wildlife and plants and threatening drinking water supplies. There are no known examples of sulfide mines that haven’t contaminated nearby water resources. While the most dangerous component of Talon's process, the handling of tailings, would reportedly take place outside of Minnesota, serious risks remain for people and water in our state. The mine would involve digging a giant underground tunnel that would drain nearby wetlands and peatlands. These natural ecosystems filter water pollution, provide habitat for plants and animals, and combat climate change. The operation would also cause air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions from processing and shipping, and potential water pollution to the Mississippi watershed from waste rock at the mine site. Transporting the ore out of state for processing also carries risks of spills and leakage. 
4. The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe has voiced concerns: The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe has raised significant concerns about the risks the proposed Tamarack Mine poses to clean water, Manoomin (wild rice), culturally significant places, and nearby communities. Through its Water Over Nickel initiative, the Band is working to protect Minnesota’s water, natural resources, and cultural sites from the risks associated with nickel mining.
5. Sulfide mining now threatens three of Minnesota’s major watersheds:  With Talon’s proposal, Minnesota now has sulfide-mining proposals in all three of its major watersheds: the Mississippi River, Lake Superior, and the Rainy River (Boundary Waters) watershed. The mining company behind the Lake Superior project, formerly PolyMet and now NewRange, recently revamped its dangerous plan and is trying to advance it again after a two-year pause. Twin Metals, a subsidiary of Chilean mining conglomerate Antofagasta, has been attempting to open a copper-nickel mine in the Boundary Waters watershed for more than a decade. Both proposals have been kept at bay through legal challenges, political action, and community resistance. 
6. You can help: Minnesotans have an opportunity right now to help protect the Mississippi River watershed and all the people and ecosystems downstream that depend on its clean water. The DNR is holding its first public comment period on Talon’s proposal through Sept. 14th. This is when the state agency will decide what to include in the proposal's environmental study, making it a critical opportunity to advocate for strong safeguards for people, water, and wild rice over the profit-driven interests of Talon and Rio Tinto. Sign on to MCEA’s comment here or follow Water Over Nickel’s instructions to submit your own. 

"This proposed mine is not just a Mille Lacs Band issue. It's a Minnesota issue," said Chief Executive of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Virgil Wind. "What happens in these watersheds affects communities far beyond the mine site and has generational implications. This public comment period is our opportunity to speak up and protect the resources we depend on, especially our clean water. Once the pollution happens, there's no going back."

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