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Source: Duluth News Tribune

Minnesota and eight other states are suing the Bush administration over what New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo says is an illegal administrative ruling that could hurt fisheries and contaminate drinking water.

The states contend the federal government has created a loophole that could allow the transfer of polluted or contaminated water by ship from one water body to another where it would do harm.

Full story at the Duluth News Tribune >>

by Elizabeth Dunbar | Source: Forbes

ST. PAUL - The state pollution control agency approved strict standards for ships that discharge ballast water into Lake Superior, hoping they will cut down on the spread of harmful invasive species.

Unlike federal proposals pending in Congress, the new permit process will cover both oceangoing vessels and ships that stay within the Great Lakes.

…. by 2016, ships will be required to treat their ballast water before dumping it into Minnesota waters.

Details of interim and longer-range management, enforcement at Forbes >>

Source: Trading Markets

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc announced today that its Tilden Mine near Ishpeming, Mich., has been certified compliant to the ISO 14001 standard for Environmental Management Systems.

Tilden was awarded the certification following a rigorous third party review of its operations, personnel and programs.

..The Tilden Mine is the second of Cliffs’ operations to achieve ISO 14001 certification, as its Northshore mining and power generation operations, located in Silver Bay and Babbitt, Minn., achieved certification in 2004. The Company expects that all of its domestic operations will achieve ISO 14001 certification in the near future.

Read the full announcement, details and quotes at Trading Markets >>

Source: Business North

The Port of Duluth-Superior, which has been emerging as a key link in the wind energy supply chain worldwide, marks another milestone this week as the Dutch-flagged cargo ship Flinterland, loaded with 54 wind turbine blades manufactured here in North America, heads to the port of Suape, Brazil.

Those 54 blades were trucked to Duluth earlier this summer, where crews from Lake Superior Warehousing assembled the blades into stackable transport frames. “They do great work up there (in Duluth),” says Susan St. Germain, Director of Projects at TransGroup. “Because of LSW’s expertise and willingness to assemble those frames onsite, we were able to put two, 37-meter blades on each truck from the factory…which saved money and cut our carbon footprint in half…”

Read the full story, details & quotes at Business North >>

by Jeff Alexander | Source: The Muskegon Chronicle

A potential showdown is brewing between state and federal agencies over the U.S. Coast Guard’s longstanding practice of allowing freighters to wash unlimited amounts of coal and other cargo residues into the Great Lakes.

Each year, the Great Lakes shipping fleet washes upwards of two million pounds of cargo residue — primarily coal, limestone and iron ore — off freighters and into the lakes. The practice, used since the 1930s, prevents cargo residues from contaminating subsequent loads of other materials.

Federal law and an international treaty prohibit ships from dumping waste into the Great Lakes. But the practice has continued because Congress in 1993 approved a temporary policy, a loophole essentially, that allowed it on an interim basis. The Coast Guard now wants to make that policy permanent.

… “Minnesota solid waste rules prohibit the disposal of solid waste into waters of the state of Minnesota, including Lake Superior,” said Paul Eger, assistant commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, in a letter to the Coast Guard.

Eger disputed the Coast Guard’s claim that cargo residues washed off ships sink quickly and do not harm water quality.

“Coal has been observed and collected by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency on the shoreline beach of Minnesota Point, Duluth,” Eger said. “This coal did not dissolve or dissipate in the waters of the lake, but instead floated and accumulated along the beach in Duluth.”

Michigan officials said they were unaware freighter operators washed cargo residues into the lakes until 2006, when The Chronicle first reported on the practice.

“Such discharges appear to be in violation of Michigan’s Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act,” said Rich Powers, chief of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality’s Water Bureau, in a letter to the Coast Guard.

More to the story — quotes, rebuttals and study results — at the Muskegon Chronicle >>

Source: Marketwatch

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc today announced that it has acquired United Mining Co. Ltd.’s 30% interest in United Taconite (UTAC), an iron ore mining and pelletizing operation located in Eveleth, Minn. Cliffs previously owned a 70% interest in the joint venture and after completing the purchase now has 100% ownership.

United Taconite is expected to produce 5.2 million tons in 2008 and at Dec. 31, 2007 had proven reserves of 133 million tons.

[The purchase was made with a] mix of cash, stock and iron ore pellets. The total includes $100 million in cash and 1,529,619 Cleveland-Cliffs common shares. In addition, the transaction includes a provision to supply 1.2 million tons of iron ore pellets over the next five quarters at no cost.

Read the full press release at Marketwatch >>

by Linda Hanson | Source: Duluth News Tribune

Four people from the Twin Ports Ministry to Seafarers strode up the gangway of the BBC Rosario as it rested in its berth at the Duluth port terminal.

They came Monday bearing smiles and offers to help the international crew, many of whom are away from their families for long stretches.

The captain and crew of the Antigua-flagged ship, which was unloading a cargo of mammoth wind turbine parts, warmly welcomed the visitors. Capt. Adrian Muflic, who is from Romania, said nearly every port has a seamen’s center and they are important to the crews.

“It gets in your heart and soul,” he said.

… Some of the crew had spent the previous evening at the Seafarers Center at 2024 W. Third St., using the phones to call home and the computers to check their e-mail. During the ship’s stay in Duluth, some crew members also got rides in the ministry’s vans to go shopping.

… The ministry mainly visits foreign vessels because that’s where the greatest needs are. While the Twin Ports Ministry to Seafarers is the largest such ministry in town, Duluth Gospel Tabernacle and Jehovah’s Witnesses also have volunteers who visit ships.

Much more to this touching story at the Duluth News Tribune >>

By Carole Vaporean | Source: Reuters-UK

Polymet Mining Corp. is on schedule with plans to produce initial copper and nickel concentrates at its Minnesota mine and processing plant by late 2009, said Chief Financial Officer Douglas Newby in a recent presentation to investors.

The company plans to begin processing 32,000 tonnes of ore per day at its northeastern Minnesota NorthMet project, Newby told Reuters in a subsequent interview.

Polymet bought the brownfield site from Cleveland Cliffs Inc, North America’s largest producer of iron ore pellets and a 7 percent owner of the project.

Much more about Polymet’s plans at Reuters-UK >>

Source: Duluth News Tribune

A 59th identified case of mesothelioma, a rare lung cancer usually caused by exposure to asbestos, has been confirmed in a group of Iron Range miners.

…“It’s a newly identified case of mesothelioma, I would put it that way,” Minnesota Department of Health spokesman Buddy Ferguson said.

Read the full story at the Duluth News Tribune >>

by Wendi Lewis  | Source: myMeso

In its last legislative session, Minnesota approved $4.9 million for research into the mesothelioma epidemic among its Iron Range workers. To date, 58 people have died of mesothelioma. Governor Tim Pawlenty signed the bill, which funds a five-year study of the taconite mining industry and the mineral’s asbestos-like properties as a likely cause for the extremely high rate of mesothelioma among workers.

Minnesota Public Radio reports that researchers and politicians will meet today to discuss progress in establishing the study.

Read the full story, many links at myMeso >>

Janna Goerdt | Source: Duluth News Tribune

The Iron Range celebrated two large-scale, innovative projects on Wednesday, and officials touted the projects as symbols of a new economy emerging in northern Minnesota.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty spoke at the dedication of the Taconite Ridge wind farm on U.S. Steel property north of Virginia and at a celebration of progress at the Mesabi Nugget processing plant near Embarrass.

The first of 10 wind turbines at the Taconite Ridge site began producing electricity on Monday…. The remaining nine turbines should produce electricity by the end of June, Remus said, generating enough power to supply about 8,000 homes when all turbines are at peak production.

…The Mesabi Nugget plant, built as a partnership between Steel Dynamics of Indiana and Kobe Steel of Japan, should begin producing highly concentrated nuggets of iron ore in summer 2009, bringing more than 100 jobs back to the east Iron Range.

It will be the world’s first iron nugget plant, said Shohei Manabe, head of the iron unit division of Kobe Steel. The ground breaking process will convert relatively low-grade taconite ore into nuggets with an iron content of 96 percent.

Producing a value-added product such as iron nuggets rather than the more-traditional taconite pellet is a big switch for the area’s economy, Sen. Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, said.

Much more to this story at the Duluth News Tribune >>

Peter Passi | Source: Duluth News Tribune

Six investors, all with ties to mining, have combined resources to launch Magnetation Inc., a Nashwauk-based company that aims to reclaim iron from the tailing basins of long-retired natural ore mines.

Tailings are the processed rock byproduct of mine operations, and natural ore mines are the operations that fed the nation’s steel industry through the 1950s until they were replaced by taconite plants capable of handling lower-grade ore.

It’s common for the tailings from natural ore mines on the Range to have an iron content of 30 percent to 45 percent, said Larry Lehtinen, Magnetation’s chairman.

Lehtinen hopes to have the permits in hand by July and aims to begin processing tailings south of Keewatin in August. The proposed initial processing operation would have an annual production capacity of about 200,000 metric tons and probably would create about 20 seasonal jobs, probably April through October.

Because Magnetation will be handling preground materials, Lehtinen said it will require far less energy than conventional mine operations and should leave a relatively small carbon footprint. Waste from the plant — primarily silica removed from the tailings — will be returned to the basin in a terraced fashion.

“We plan to leave behind wetlands that will be valuable in their own right,” Lehtinen said.

Magnetation expects to produce a fine-grained concentrate with an iron content of about 65 percent — roughly the same as a taconite pellet. This concentrate could be turned into pellets, used to produce iron nuggets or sold as sinter feed for steelmakers’ blast furnaces. Lehtinen pointed out that several mills on the Great Lakes use sinter to produce steel, and they could be supplied by freighters.

Magnetation believes it is ready to launch its first commercial operation on the site of the Mesabi Chief No. 3 tailings basin, just south of Keewatin.

Very detailed story; more on harvesting process, land reclamation and production targets at the Duluth News Tribune >>

Have photos of the Tall Ships? Send them in — we’d love to share them!

Terry Mattson | Source: Budgeteer News

With more than 20,000 square feet of sail and thousands of nautical miles between them, the three tall ships — the U.S. Brig Niagara, the Pride of Baltimore II and the Madeline — will drop anchor at the Harbor Drive docking area behind the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center Thursday, July 31. The U.S. Brig Niagara and the Pride of Baltimore II are replicas of the War of 1812 clipper ships, while the schooner Madeline is modeled after an 1840s freighter.

All three majestic vessels will be available for tours on Aug. 1, 2, and 3 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Special thanks to our Maritime Festival major sponsors including title sponsor Owens Yacht Sales, Inc., which presents the U.S. Brig Niagara; the Duluth Seaway Port Authority brings you the Pride of Baltimore II; the Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Downtown Waterfront presents the Madeline.

Read about all the festive plans throughout this summer in Duluth at the Budgeteer News >>

by Anne Bretts | BusinessNorth.com

From a precious metals mine in Hoyt Lakes, a power plant expansion in Grand Rapids to a state-of-the art high-energy neutrino detector in Orr, the Iron Range is gearing up for a building boom.

Officials at the state-run Iron Range Resources office in Eveleth are planning for about $5 billion in construction from now through 2011, translating into thousands of construction jobs, more than 2,000 permanent jobs and up to 12,000 spin-off jobs created by vendors and suppliers.

But the story is different in nearby Hibbing. “Everybody seems to be in a holding pattern waiting to actually see MSI (Minnesota Steel Industries) proceed,” says Duane Northagen, community economic development coordinator.

And with good reason. At $1.65 billion, the planned new steel mill is the largest project now on the boards, with 700 permanent jobs and 2,000 construction jobs at stake.

Much more to the story, far-reaching economic effects at BusinessNorth.com >>

John Myers | Source: Duluth News Tribune

A state District Court judge in Ramsey County has ordered the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to regulate ballast water released by Great Lakes ships as pollution.

Judge Kathleen Gearin issued the ruling Tuesday…

Gearin ruled that the PCA must enforce both the federal Clean Water Act and state statutes and have a permit system in place to regulate ballast water discharges as pollution starting Oct. 1. The MCEA had asked that ballast waster be regulated immediately.

Read the full groundbreaking story at the Duluth News Tribune >>

Brian Bakst | Source: Duluth News Tribune

ST. PAUL (AP) - Comprehensive research of a rare cancer afflicting Iron Range miners will go forward …

The state Senate gave preliminary approval to the research money. A final vote will come as soon as Monday. It then moves back to the House, where DFL Majority Leader Tony Sertich promised swift action.

“Everyone is in agreement that this study needs to be done,” said Sen. David Tomassoni, DFL-Chisholm. “Some way, somehow we need to get to the bottom of this.”

The state Health Department has said 58 deaths in Northeastern Minnesota are blamed on mesothelioma, which is usually caused by asbestos and has turned up among dozens of taconite miners. Male residents of the region have come down with mesothelioma at unusually high rates since the late 1980s.

The University of Minnesota will lead the studies.

Read the full story at the Duluth News Tribune >>

Source: Northland’s News Center

Increasing demand for taconite is making for exciting times on the Iron Range.

“There is an insatiable demand right now in China, in India, and in South America.”

As this commodity boom is taking place, some steel plants such as Keetac are looking to expand.

In order to keep up with the heavy demand, mining officials are looking at various options to increase transportation.

“They’re also looking at the possibility of expanding the Soo Locks to add an additional lock that would have a greater capacity.”

Full story, photo at Northland’s News Center >>

Source: MLive.com

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota will move ahead with plans to regulate ballast water discharges from Great Lakes ships, even if the federal government doesn’t act, the state’s top environmental official says.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency unveiled a rough draft of proposed regulations that would require ships to treat ballast water before it’s released into Minnesota waters.

Shipping industry officials oppose the state’s plan…

Read the full story at MLive.com >>

Source: Lake County News Chronicle

Duluth Missabe and Iron Range Railroad Company (Canadian National) has paid a $20,000 civil penalty to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) for three air quality violations in 2007.

The DM & IR transports taconite pellets from three Minnesota taconite plants to its facilities in Duluth and Two Harbors for storage, loading and shipment on the Great Lakes. Taconite pellets can generate dust emissions during railcar unloading and ship loading, moving and stockpiling.

Read the full story at the Lake County News Chronicle >>

Janna Goerdt | Source: Duluth News Tribune

A comprehensive renovation project is under way at the historic lighthouse. When it’s finished by mid-summer, seven properties on the Split Rock site will have been spiffed up and stabilized, site manager Lee Radzak said. They include the fog signal building, the lightkeepers’ dwellings, two wooden storage barns and, most visibly, the top of the lighthouse.

The lighthouse will see its 100th birthday in 2010, and it’s in consideration for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

Neat story, read about the curved glass panes, more at the Duluth News Tribune >>