The Minnesota Supreme Court has granted a review of the Minnesota Court of Appeals’ ruling regarding the NorthMet project air permit, reports TSX-listed PolyMet Mining.
The company last month turned to the Supreme Court, seeking to overturn a state Court of Appeals ruling on March 23 that remanded NorthMet’s air permit to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to provide more information.
In a separate petition, the MPCA also sought a review of the lower court's decision, which the Supreme Court also granted.
This is the second case in which the Supreme Court has granted review of the lower court’s ruling on Northmet project permits. In April, the court granted the company’s and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR's) requests to review the Court of Appeals’ January 13 ruling, which remanded PolyMet’s permit to mine and two dam safety permits to the DNR for a contested case hearing. The court is expected to hear that case later this year.
PolyMet says in a June 16 release that it is looking forward to presenting its case to the Minnesota Supreme Court.
“We believe the MPCA in its permit appropriately accounted for the potential effects of the NorthMet project on the airshed, and are pleased that the Supreme Court will hear the case,” comments president and CEO Jon Cherry.
“The court of appeals’ decision creates tremendous uncertainty for companies who want to invest in Minnesota and must seek permits from the state. This is an opportunity to remedy that situation.”
The project is facing upheaval from environmental groups, which are concerned about its impact on water systems.
NorthMet has a measured and indicated resource of 649-million tonnes. PolyMet plans to develop the mining operation in two phases, the first of which involves development of 225-million tons – nearly one-third of NorthMet’s known resource – into an operating mine processing 32 000 t/d over a 20-year mine life. It also includes rehabilitating the former LTV Steel Mining Company processing plant.