Great News! Twin Metals Submits Its Mine Plan to State and Federal Agencies for Review

Yesterday, Minnesota took another step toward unearthing prosperity when Twin Metals Minnesota formally submitted its mine plan to state and federal agencies for review. According to the Twin Metals press release:

“This marks the culmination of more than a decade of engineering, hydrogeological, environmental and engagement work including the evaluation of dozens of project configurations and technologies that maximize environmental protection.”

“Submission of the project starts a multi-year scoping and environmental review process that will thoroughly evaluate this proposal. The review process will include additional baseline data collection, impact analyses, and multiple opportunities for public input.”

The move was predictably decried by anti-mining groups, but their shrill cries that the proposed underground mine will necessarily impair the Boundary Waters are premature because they haven’t even had a chance to evaluate the mine plan submitted by Twin Metals.

It’s also interesting to note that the statement put out by the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy -which receives money from Xcel Energy-never once mentions which metals will eventually be produced at the Twin Metals mine. No one will be mining for sulfides, they will be mining for copper, nickel, platinum, palladium, and cobalt using the latest and most environmentally responsible technology available.

In the end the merits of this project will be evaluated by regulators and be approved, or not, based on the scientific merits of the mine plan. If approved, the Twin Metals mine will be a powerful economic engine for the region and create more than 650 jobs at the mine, and many more indirect and induced jobs will be supported by the mine.

The mine plan has a lot of interesting information in it. I’ve included it below (apologies for the small text, the file is too large to display on the site).