REGIONAL—Twin Metals has announced it intends to develop a new proposal for its proposed copper-nickel and precious metals mine near Ely. The announcement comes in the wake of a decision by the Trump administration to reinstate mineral leases that the Obama administration had cancelled in late 2016.

In a statement submitted to news media on Thursday, company officials indicated they expect to have a new proposal available in about 18 months, which could then be submitted for environmental review.

According to the company, key aspects of the preliminary plan include:

• Processing approximately 20,000 tons of mineralized ore per day

extracted from underground.

• Locating the processing site approximately one mile south of the

underground deposit.

• Accessing the mine by tunnels at the processing site.

• Storing about half of the tailings as permanent cemented backfill in the

underground mine. The remaining tailings would be stored on a modern,

lined surface tailings storage facility near the Peter Mitchell Mine southwest

of Babbitt and outside of the Rainy River Watershed. Testing shows the

tailings would be non-acid generating.

• Opening an additional office in Babbitt.

• Busing mine employees from both Ely and Babbitt, minimizing traffic and

maximizing employment opportunities across the region.

Environmentalists, who have opposed the proposal for the past several years, say they’re unhappy with the new proposal, which they say moves the facility closer to the Boundary Waters than the original plan released in 2014.

“Sulfide-ore copper mining will pollute the Boundary Waters, result in the loss of thousands of jobs and many businesses in northeastern Minnesota and across the state, and deprive our children and grandchildren of their wild lands heritage,” said Doug Niemala, with the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters.

The Timberjay will have much more on this story in its June 1 edition.