Minnesota Supreme Court Rules in Favor of PolyMet Permit to Mine and Dam Safety
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The Minnesota Supreme Court today resolved a key legal challenge to the PolyMet permit to mine and dam safety permits, overturning a lower court decision that had ordered an open-ended contested case hearing and instead limiting the contested case hearing to one specific, narrow issue, according to Poly Met Mining.
The court’s unanimous decision affirmed the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ discretion to deny contested case hearings and, importantly, affirmed its decision to deny contested case hearings on every issue raised by project opponents, save one: the effectiveness of bentonite clay capping for eventual closure of the tailings basin. The court also reversed the court of appeals’ decision to require contested case hearings on PolyMet’s dam safety permits. DNR has spent years studying the bentonite cap issue that will be considered in a contested case. When DNR completes the contested case process, it can re-issue the permit to mine.
“This is a big win for PolyMet, our supporters, and for industry in Minnesota. The decision comes on the heels of the Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of the company’s air permit in February,” said Jon Cherry, chairman, president and CEO.
“We continue to review the decision and will have more to say about our path forward in due course,” Cherry said.
“In the meantime, we celebrate another key legal victory along with all who value integrity in the state’s environmental review and permitting process and who want responsibly mined metals for infrastructure improvements, electric vehicles and renewable energy. These metals that are found in abundance in Minnesota remain in the ground at a time when the supply continues to diminish and demand increases,” Cherry added.
About PolyMet
PolyMet is a mine development company that owns 100 percent of the NorthMet Project, the first large-scale project to be permitted 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 global carbon reduction efforts – in addition to marketable reserves of cobalt, platinum and gold. When operational, NorthMet will become one of the leading producers of nickel, palladium and cobalt in the U.S., providing a much needed, responsibly mined source of these critical and essential metals.
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