6/30/2006 by Richard Thomas

While the Iron Range enjoys a taconite boom, interest in nonferrous (non-iron) minerals - copper, nickel, platinum, cobalt and palladium - is creating both elation and anxiety.

In mid-June, the Iron Range Resources board of directors approved a $1.25 million loan for the Franconia Birch Lake project, a proposed underground nonferrous mine near Babbitt.

In 2005 the board aided another nonferrous mining venture, PolyMet Mining Corp.'s NorthMet project, by waiving its option on the closed LTV Steel Mining plant near Hoyt Lakes. That cleared the way for PolyMet to buy and use the former taconite plant for its own processing.

About a dozen mining companies are exploring Northeastern Minnesota for nonferrous minerals, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

On the northeast region's southwest front in Aitkin County, however, residents aren't having it. In May 2006 the county's Planning Commission refused to grant Kennecott Mining a conditional use permit to explore for nonferrous minerals on private land.

Meanwhile environmentalists throughout northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan are battling plans for such mines. The problem is that the sought-for minerals are encased in rock that produces sulfuric acid when brought to the surface and exposed to air.

A geologic formation known as the Duluth Complex stretches from the city of Duluth up the shore to the Canadian border and north to the Iron Range. It's the largest undeveloped nonferrous deposit in the United States and the fourth largest complex of its type in the world.

Similar mineral occurrences are found in northern Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Until recently, mining this type of rock hasn't been viable because the ore is relatively low grade. A ton of ore might yield 15 pounds of copper, one pound of nickel, and a gram of platinum group metals.

Traditional smelting doesn't work, economically or environmentally. But the development of autoclaves that use a water-based process to separate metals from concentrate is particularly suited for the Duluth Complex.

Mining proponents say the ore body involves low-sulfide rock and the hydrometallurgical process is much cleaner than old smelting methods.

Critics counter that sulfide mining has a long and dirty history, and there's no guarantee the mines will not leach acid into groundwater in future decades. "There's an ancient Roman copper mine that's still leaching," said Clyde Hanson, co-chair of the Mining Without Harm Campaign by the Sierra Club, NorthStar chapter.

Environmental groups also are concerned over the potential impact upon air quality with precious metal mining on the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, as well as expanded taconite mining and a new iron nugget plant near Aurora that likely will be operational in 2007.

Driving these projects is soaring demand for both iron ore and precious metals.

Since 2003, the price of cooper has more than quadrupled, nickel has nearly tripled, and the prices of other nonferrous metals are up. The increase is driven largely by the growing infrastructure development and demand for electronics products in China and India.

"It really reflects the booming worldwide economy, especially in China," said Alar Seover, president of the Canada-based Wallbridge Mining Co. Its Duluth Metals subsidiary also is exploring the Birch Lake area. "If you said two years ago the price of copper would be $3 a pound, you would have gotten a laugh," he said.

Nickel and copper prices reached a record high in May 2006 "in part due to strong buying from investment funds, but also because of the laggardly response by producers to increase output," according to Reuters South Africa. Since then, prices dipped sharply but began to strengthen in late June after Arizona-based Phelps Dodge Mining announced it will acquire two Canadian giants, Inco and Falconbridge.

That will create the world's largest nickel, and largest publicly-traded copper producer. Labor unrest among miners in South America, South Africa and Mexico also have reduced warehouse stockpiles, driving prices up.

Hanson of the Sierra Club said the push for mining in North America is partly because "the Third World is getting tired of pollution." He cites the March 2006 protests against a copper mine in Indonesia that culminated in violent clashes with police. He suggested the demand for copper and nickel be met more through recycling than opening new mines.

Can sulfide mines be safe? "The answers are in the eye of the beholder," said Arno Knoll, reclamation manager for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Past sulfide mining has been "not planned out . . .bad news, no question," he said, adding the new technology and better planning can minimize mining impact. "Zero impact? I wouldn't say that," Knoll said.

The state of Wisconsin banned nonferrous mining in 1998, requiring mining companies to prove a safe sulfide mine even exists before issuing any more permits. The mine must have operated for 10 years and been closed for another 10 years without polluting the surrounding environment.

The Nicolet Minerals Co. has proposed to open a zinc-copper-lead mine in Crandon, claiming it can name three mines in North America that meet the minimum 20-year, no pollution requirement.

The Wisconsin DNR is reviewing the evidence.

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