The Building Trades Council is urging members to attend state Department of Natural Resources hearings on the project this week in Aurora and Blaine.
The Aurora session starts with a 5 p.m. open house and a 7 p.m. hearing Wednesday, Dec. 9, in the Memorial Gymnasium of Mesabi East Schools, 601 North First St. W. The Blaine session starts with a 5 p.m. open house and a 7 p.m. hearing at the Schwan National Sports Center, 1700 105th Ave. NE.
“The Minnesota Building Trades Council is proud to support PolyMet Mining Company’s proposal,” said President Harry Melander. “This project will be built thanks to the expertise and hard work of more than 300 skilled trades people and will create hundreds of good-paying jobs.
“Our members will benefit from the construction jobs PolyMet will create,” he said. “And all Minnesotans will benefit from the minerals the company will provide.”
PolyMet proposes to build a $600 million mine and processing facility for copper, nickel, platinum, palladium, cobalt and gold. The project will require 1.5 million work-hours of construction labor. Once fully operational, PolyMet will employ about 400 people with an annual payroll of about $40 million. An additional 500 spin-off jobs will be created in St. Louis County alone, the company said.
“Northeastern Minnesotan needs good, family supporting jobs,” said Minnesota AFL-CIO President Shar Knutson. “The most recent data from the Jobs Now Coalition of Minnesota shows that 12 people are competing for every open job in the Northeast region.
“On March 16, 2009, the Minnesota AFL-CIO General Board passed a resolution opposing legislation aimed at delaying the PolyMet EIS process. Now, after consultation with elected officials representing the Iron Range, after learning that PolyMet has already invested more than $20 million in researching and outlining a safe and environmentally responsible mining operation, we urge the DNR to approve the draft EIS and allow the project to move forward.”
Both Melander and Knutson acknowledged the proposal has met with opposition from individuals and organizations concerned about the environment.
“While these construction jobs are important to us, we could not in good conscience support this project if we believed it would harm our environment,” Melander said. “PolyMet has demonstrated that it can mine and process these minerals, create hundreds of jobs, and maintain our environment.”
“There is no question that the PolyMet project is controversial,” Knutson said. “However, we believe that it holds promise both for our economy and for our environment.”
In addition to creating jobs, the mine will make the United States – and Minnesota manufacturers – less dependent on imported materials, she said.
The DNR and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are soliciting public comments on a draft Environmental Impact Statement for the PolyMet project. Once the draft is approved, permits can be issued.
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The Building Trades Council is urging members to attend state Department of Natural Resources hearings on the project this week in Aurora and Blaine.
The Aurora session starts with a 5 p.m. open house and a 7 p.m. hearing Wednesday, Dec. 9, in the Memorial Gymnasium of Mesabi East Schools, 601 North First St. W. The Blaine session starts with a 5 p.m. open house and a 7 p.m. hearing at the Schwan National Sports Center, 1700 105th Ave. NE.
“The Minnesota Building Trades Council is proud to support PolyMet Mining Company’s proposal,” said President Harry Melander. “This project will be built thanks to the expertise and hard work of more than 300 skilled trades people and will create hundreds of good-paying jobs.
“Our members will benefit from the construction jobs PolyMet will create,” he said. “And all Minnesotans will benefit from the minerals the company will provide.”
PolyMet proposes to build a $600 million mine and processing facility for copper, nickel, platinum, palladium, cobalt and gold. The project will require 1.5 million work-hours of construction labor. Once fully operational, PolyMet will employ about 400 people with an annual payroll of about $40 million. An additional 500 spin-off jobs will be created in St. Louis County alone, the company said.
“Northeastern Minnesotan needs good, family supporting jobs,” said Minnesota AFL-CIO President Shar Knutson. “The most recent data from the Jobs Now Coalition of Minnesota shows that 12 people are competing for every open job in the Northeast region.
“On March 16, 2009, the Minnesota AFL-CIO General Board passed a resolution opposing legislation aimed at delaying the PolyMet EIS process. Now, after consultation with elected officials representing the Iron Range, after learning that PolyMet has already invested more than $20 million in researching and outlining a safe and environmentally responsible mining operation, we urge the DNR to approve the draft EIS and allow the project to move forward.”
Both Melander and Knutson acknowledged the proposal has met with opposition from individuals and organizations concerned about the environment.
“While these construction jobs are important to us, we could not in good conscience support this project if we believed it would harm our environment,” Melander said. “PolyMet has demonstrated that it can mine and process these minerals, create hundreds of jobs, and maintain our environment.”
“There is no question that the PolyMet project is controversial,” Knutson said. “However, we believe that it holds promise both for our economy and for our environment.”
In addition to creating jobs, the mine will make the United States – and Minnesota manufacturers – less dependent on imported materials, she said.
The DNR and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are soliciting public comments on a draft Environmental Impact Statement for the PolyMet project. Once the draft is approved, permits can be issued.