News
New forms of iron for greener steel can also help with mining cleanup
March 12, 2023: First it was natural iron ore, then taconite. Can the Iron Range make the leap to produce and process, at scale, the new forms of iron needed by a rapidly decarbonizing steel industry? Aaron Brown posed that question in a January Minnesota Reformer article, “Hop...Read More
Range is “uniquely positioned” to prosper from global shift in iron-to-steel processes
March 11, 2023: Worldwide, the iron mining and steel industries are at a turning point, say the authors of a recent article in the Mining issue of Hometown Focus, published on Minnesota’s Iron Range. Climate change is driving a swift decarbonization of the iron-to-steel process...Read More
Less sulfate, less methylmercury, safer fish harvests
March 8, 2023: There’s another benefit to sulfate remediation in freshwater ecosystems: less sulfate also bodes well for healthier fish and wildlife. That’s because in these settings, sulfate boosts the conversion of mercury to methylmercury, the substance that makes fish unsa...Read More
A large lake has varying sulfate levels: Is it “impaired”?
February 2023: On Minnesota’s Iron Range, the 20-mile-long reservoir known as Birch Lake snakes through the forest northeast of Babbitt. With shorelines rich in wild rice, these waters ultimately flow north into the Rainy Lake watershed and the Boundary Waters. But on Birch Lak...Read More
Improved sulfate process holds potential for multiple wins on the Iron Range
October 30, 2022: Clearwater BioLogic "is fine-tuning a process that could turn a cost-effective fix for one of the Iron Range’s biggest environmental problems into a job-producing enterprise," said an Oct. 26 article in The Timberjay, covering northern Minnesota news. Earlier...Read More
Green Steel gains an advocate in northern Minnesota
Oct. 19, 2022: On top of renewed media attention for its sulfate cleanup system, Clearwater BioLogic’s Jeff Hanson is also emerging as a champion for green steel development on the Iron Range. He was among the guests on Duluth public television’s Almanac North “Core Conversati...Read More
Iron Range could be poised for green steel production
Oct. 13, 2022: How could northern Minnesota help revolutionize the iron and steel industry? "The potential is there for a process that goes right from mine to steel on site," said an editorial on a talk given October 12 by Jeff Hanson of Clearwater BioLogic. The editorial in Th...Read More
Innovation in sulfate treatment will cut cost of remediation
October 7, 2022: Clearwater BioLogic announces a new and revised Step 2 in its three-step sulfate treatment process. After Step 1 generates hydrogen sulfide through biological reduction, Step 2 now uses reactive iron treatment: the hydrogen sulfide is bonded with iron without t...Read More
PolyMet and Teck join forces for copper-nickel mining
July 27, 2022: A new venture between PolyMet Mining and minerals giant Teck Resources creates a significant prospect for the development of copper-nickel mining on Minnesota's Iron Range. Named NewRange Copper Nickel, the joint venture is focused outside of the Rainy River wate...Read More
Facing up to the wild rice sulfate problem
December 31, 2021: For a problem to be solved, it must first be named. Given that fact, 2021 marked progress for Minnesota's wild rice waters, many of which are tainted by sulfates. After a nudge from the federal EPA last March, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency started in...Read More
Setback for possible copper-nickel mining on the Iron Range
October 21, 2021: In addition to iron and taconite, Northern Minnesota has deposits of copper, nickel, and other minerals in high demand. One such deposit is in the watershed bordering on the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. At t...Read More
U.S. Steel’s legal losses may prompt a sulfate cleanup
June 30, 2021: U.S. Steel is running out of legal options to avoid regulation of the sulfate pollution discharged at its Minntac facility in Mountain Iron, Minnesota. U.S. Steel's latest legal loss may mark the end of its attempt to block the state's Pollution Control Agency...Read More
EPA acts to protect Minnesota’s wild rice waters
April 14, 2021: “Biden's Environmental Protection Agency is emerging as a powerful ally in the years-long fight to get Minnesota to protect wild rice beds from sulfate pollution,” Stephanie Hemphill reported in Minnpost April 13, 2021. “Minnesota tribal and environmental groups...Read More
More Minnesota wild rice waters designated “impaired” by EPA
March 30, 2021: In its latest review of Minnesota’s polluted waters (March 2021), the Environmental Protection Agency dictated that numerous sulfate-tainted lakes, rivers, and streams be added to the state’s “Impaired Waters” list. These waters do not meet the state’s...Read More
EPA letter holds MPCA accountable to water quality standards
March 26, 2021: In a letter dated March 26, 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency required the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to include sulfate-laden water bodies on its Impaired Waters list, citing “Minnesota’s federally-approved 10 mg/L standard” for wild rice areas. ...Read More
Minnesota tribes pressure governor to clean up mining pollution
January 20, 2021: Tribal nations from across Minnesota are accusing state regulators of bad faith over their continuing failure to address pollution concerns, many stemming from lax regulation of the Iron Range’s taconite industry. Read the article online or as a PDF.Read More