Hidden a thousand feet below the surface in this patch of wetlands in northern Minnesota is an ancient deposit that some consider important for fueling America’s clean energy future.
A company called Talon Metals is drilling here around the clock, extracting nickel-rich rocks with the goal of becoming the nation’s only source of materials used to power zero-emission vehicles. Extracting samples.
However, some locals are fighting the mines, fearing they could pollute the environment. The backlash suggests how difficult it will be to build a nationwide chain of supplies to help push the US’s transition to electric vehicles.
Tamarac, Minnesota — In this isolated town of about 100 people, dozens of employees work for Talon Metals, extracting long cylinders of rock from deep within the earth and analyzing their contents. . They liken their work to a battleship game. Each time you drill, you get a better idea of where the long-hidden giant mineral deposits are lurking.
The company has proposed building an underground mine near Tamarac to produce nickel, a very popular mineral used in electric vehicles. It’s a lucrative venture for Talon, which has a deal to supply nickel for Tesla’s car batteries, and a step in the country’s race to develop a domestic supply chain to meet growing demand for electric vehicles. Moving forward.
However, mines that extract metals from sulfide ores, like this one, poor environmental record In the United States, even more checkered footprints globally. Some people in the area argue that the mines could bring good jobs to sparsely populated areas, while others would ruin local lakes and streams that flow into the Mississippi River. I am deeply afraid of the possibilities. I also fear that the life and culture of the Ojibwe people who live a mile or so away from Talon lands and have been gathering wild rice here for generations. There are also concerns that it could be compromised.
Talon says it will invest heavily to design the world’s most environmentally friendly and responsible mine. But some people in the community are also skeptical about the company’s promise to respect indigenous rights, such as tribal rights over the lands on which members hunt and gather food. a minority whose partner, Rio Tinto, provoked anger In 2020, they blew up 46,000-year-old Aboriginal caves in Australia in search of iron ore.
Kelly Applegate, natural resources commissioner for the Mille Lux Band in Ojibue, said he was “extremely concerned” about the mine’s environmental impact. “This is also an attack on indigenous culture, a disturbance of our way of being, and another trauma that can happen to our people,” he said.
He explained that mining local resources for electric vehicles that tribe members wouldn’t be able to afford was “a huge environmental justice issue.” Excluding homeowners, the area is one of the poorest in Minnesota.Native Americans in Minnesota experience poverty at a higher rate than any other racial or ethnic group in the state. Locals say the few Teslas are just Talon’s company cars.
“Talon and Rio Tinto come and go — greatly enriched by their mining operations. But we and the remnants of the Tamarac mines will be here forever,” Applegate said. .
Located 50 miles west of Lake Superior, the project highlights some challenges as the Biden administration seeks to transition America to electric vehicles. The administration says it wants to make the battery supply chain more resilient by sourcing minerals within North America. But that desire can lead to potential environmental damage and violations of Native American rights. near tribal lands.
Many climate activists say the world urgently needs to switch to cleaner cars to limit the global damage caused by climate change. Last week, California approved a plan to ban the sale of new gasoline cars by 2035.
However, the current supply chain for electric vehicle batteries, and the batteries required for the grid that charges those vehicles, is dependent on some hostile and highly polluting countries. Much of the nickel used in car batteries is produced in rainforest-ravaged strip mines. Indonesia and the Philippinesemits large amounts of carbon dioxide before being refined in coal-powered factories in China.
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Another source of nickel is a large mining operation north of the Arctic Circle in Norilsk, Russia, which produces sulfur dioxide in such a way that the plume of toxic gas is large enough. seen from spaceOther minerals used in electric vehicle batteries, such as lithium and cobalt, are likely mined or refined through child or forced labor.
With global demand for electric vehicles forecast, 6x growth by 2030the dirty origins of this otherwise promising green industry are in danger of looming. will spend nearly $400 billion on clean energy initiatives over the next decade, including financing for
New domestic high-tech mines and factories could make this supply chain safer and potentially less damaging to the global environment. said it could still pose a risk to water, sparking heated debate about which communities should bear the cost.
Potential risks to plants and wildlife come from sulfide minerals. Ore containing substances such as copper and nickel, can be leached sulfuric acid and heavy metals. More than a dozen former copper mines in the United States are now Superfund sites and polluted sites that taxpayers may be held responsible for cleaning up after.
Talon Metals claims there are no such issues. Todd Mullan, the company’s chief foreign affairs officer and climate strategy officer, said: “It’s not a choice.”
Maran said the company uses high-tech equipment to map groundwater flows in the area and create 3D models of the ore. Talon is also committed to safely storing the toxic by-products of its mines and using techniques to mine in deep bedrock where groundwater would not normally penetrate.
Talon has partnered with the United Steelworkers on workforce development.and Rio Tinto won A $2.2 million Department of Energy grant will allow carbon capture near the site. This could allow the mine to market its products as zero emissions.
In a statement, Talon said it would engage in “meaningful consultations with tribal sovereign governments and tribal peoples” to develop mining plans that address their concerns and work with tribal governments interested in sharing economic benefits. Stated.
The company has held several informational meetings with tribe staff and members, and some tribe members say they still need more details from Talon about the plans.
If mining starts on schedule in 2026, it will be able to feed a hungry market. The United States currently has one nickel mine in Michigan, but that resource will be exhausted by 2026.
There is a growing bipartisan consensus in Washington that the country should reduce its dependence on dangerous foreign minerals. EstimateBy 2040, the world will need about 20 times more nickel and cobalt and 40 times more lithium than it did in 2020.
By the end of the decade, recycling could play a bigger role in the supply of these materials, and some new car batteries are nickel-free. It’s still very popular in electric trucks and luxury cars because it prolongs.
Infrastructure Act Passed Last Year $7 billion To develop domestic supply chains for important minerals. The climate tax law also sets ambitious thresholds to ensure that some electric vehicles that receive tax incentives are made in the United States.
Talon’s proposed mine could help Tesla meet those thresholds. Tesla sources its nickel from China, Australia, New Caledonia and Canada, said CEO Elon Musk. begged the miners to produce more.
Some environmental and leftist groups, long skeptical of domestic mining, are reconciling these positions, arguing that the energy transition requires resources.
Colin O’Mara, chief executive of the National Wildlife Federation, said there is a growing need for responsibly mined battery materials and Talon will use cutting-edge technology to minimize the mine’s footprint. He said he promised to keep it to a minimum.
But he acknowledged that it still takes a leap for locals to believe in the new technology and Talon’s ability to apply it. ‘ he said.
The economic potential and environmental risks can extend well beyond a single mine.whole region home of deposits Nickel, copper and cobalt formed from volcanoes that erupted miles of liquid magma 1.1 billion years ago.
Talon leases 31,000 acres of land in the area, covering 11 miles of geological features deep in the swamp. The company diligently drilled and explored underground resources along one of these 11 miles he and discovered several other potential satellite deposits.
The company announced in August that it had also acquired land in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to explore for more nickel.
Talon plans to begin the Minnesota environmental review process in the coming months, and the company says it expects a brief review. But legal challenges to the proposed mines, which regularly he could take for more than a decade, led some people living near the project to do whatever they could to fight the mines. said to do
Elizabeth Skinaway and her sister Gene Skinaway Lawrence, members of the Sandy Lake Band of Chippewa, Minnesota, and their sister Gene Skinaway Lawrence, have been collecting wild rice for 43 years on a lake a few miles from their proposed mine. I am particularly concerned about
Skinaway acknowledges that we need to fight climate change that threatens rice. But she sees little justice in using the same kind of profit-driven extractive industry that she says has long plundered indigenous lands and destroyed the global environment.
“Wild rice, a gift from the Creator, is lost to sulfides leaching into rivers and lakes,” she said. “It’s a really scary thought.”
“We were here first,” said her sister. “We should be heard.”