- Court of Appeals rules favorably on Polymet’s (POM) water permit
- It upheld the agency’s conclusion that PolyMet’s project has no reasonable potential to violate water quality standards
- PolyMet is a mine development company that owns 100 per cent of the NorthMet Project
- NorthMet has significant proven and probable reserves of copper, nickel and palladium – metals vital to infrastructure improvements and global carbon reduction efforts
- Located in the Mesabi Iron Range, the project will provide economic diversity while leveraging the region’s established supplier network
- Polymet Mining Corp (POM) is up 2.53 per cent, trading at C$3.24 at 1:17 pm EST
The Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed nearly all aspects of the water discharge permit for Polymet Mining’s (POM) NorthMet Project.
This overruled six of the seven challenges to the permit made by mining opponents, according to Poly Met Mining, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Polymet Mining Corp.
The Court of Appeals affirmed virtually every aspect of Polymet’s permit at issue.
In particular, the court endorsed the district court’s factual findings regarding the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s and the Environmental Protection Agency’s interactions during the permitting process; agreed with MPCA’s application of state law governing groundwater discharges.
It upheld the agency’s conclusion that PolyMet’s project has no reasonable potential to violate water quality standards; agreed with MPCA’s finding that PolyMet’s project will not violate the Fond du Lac Band’s water quality standards; and affirmed the agency’s denial of mining opponents’ requests for a contested case hearing.
“We are pleased that we have prevailed on the majority of the issues and the court has narrowed the case to just this single issue regarding Maui, where considerable scientific data already exists,” said Jon Cherry, chairman, president and CEO.
“MPCA has already determined there is not a permittable discharge to groundwater and we are optimistic the agency will reach the same conclusion from the Maui test. This will mean a little more process, but it gives us a clear roadmap to the reactivation of this permit,” added Cherry.
Polymet is a mine development company that owns 100 per cent of the NorthMet Project, the first large-scale project to have received permits within the Duluth Complex in northeastern Minnesota, one of the world’s major, undeveloped mining regions.
NorthMet has significant proven and probable reserves of copper, nickel and palladium – metals vital to infrastructure improvements and global carbon reduction efforts – in addition to marketable reserves of cobalt, platinum and gold.
Located in the Mesabi Iron Range, the project will provide economic diversity while leveraging the region’s established supplier network and skilled workforce and generate a level of activity that will have a significant effect on the local economy.
Polymet Mining Corp (POM) is up 2.53 per cent, trading at C$3.24 at 1:17 pm EST.
