PolyMet
PolyMet proposes to mine a sulfide ore body on U.S. Forest Service land near the towns of Hoyt Lakes and Babbitt. This would be the first sulfide ore mine to be permitted in the state of Minnesota. However, additional proposals for sulfide mines will soon follow. How the PolyMet proposal is treated by Minnesota's permitting agencies is particularly critical in light of these coming proposals. The PolyMet mine site covers about five square miles, two square miles of which are wetlands that will be destroyed. The mine will be an open pit, producing millions of tons of waste rock, some of which will contain sulfide mineralization. Despite the fact that the Environmental Impact Statement is now being prepared, the company has not yet determined how it will treat its waste rock, making any determination of the potential for Acid Mine Drainage impossible. Potentially affected waters include the Partridge River and the Embarrass River, which are tributaries of the St. Louis River and Lake Superior.
