January 2, 2014
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recently announced the launch of a web page to house documents related to mining lease proposals. Proposals posted at the site relate to non-ferrous, metallic minerals. Registered users of the portal will receive notifications about new proposals as they are received by the State.
Background
On October 25, 2013, the Minnesota Executive Committee approved 31 non-ferrous mineral leases in a 4-1 vote. At that meeting, Governor Dayton directed DNR Commissioner Landwehr to make available to the public – without formal data requests – documents related to plans and proposals relevant to the approval of mineral leases. On November 6, PRM requested to be included on the list-serve of organizations and individuals scheduled to receive such public data.
Twin Metals plan listed on site
The DNR’s web page for “exploration plan proposals” is here. The page currently includes one approved exploration plan, and is also intended to include proposals that are under review. The approved plan was submitted by Twin Metals Minnesota, LLC to DNR on November 8, 2013, following the October 25 Executive Council meeting and prior to the December 11 public availability of the site. The summary plan documents are here.