Cooperative Mineral Resources, a subsidiary of Crow Wing Power, recently announced it completed the extraction phase of the Emily manganese demonstration project testing an extraction method that uses groundwater to retrieve valuable manganiferous ore from 200-400 feet below the surface of the earth.
The project began extracting ore from the site last winter. It now has recovered enough material to complete the testing and review will now begin to determine if the technology is feasible and the deposit significant enough to support a commercial operation.
“This is another important milestone for us as we continue to learn more about the deposit and this new process,” said Bruce Kraemer, president and CEO of CMR, in a news release. “Information from the drill site, the processing facility, and the lab work is invaluable. This deposit is very unique and represents an important economic opportunity for our community. The challenge is to learn as much as we can to help us determine if it makes fiscal and environmental sense to move forward with plans for a commercial operation.”
Some of the ore material from the site is being studied and tested by the University of Minnesota’s Coleraine Minerals Research Laboratory. This work includes analyzing the quality and quantity of manganese in the ore, as well as looking at different ways to separate the mineral from the silica and iron. The testing and review will continue as part of the final phase of the demonstration project.
Once that study is complete, the project team will review the relevant information from the site and the lab to determine whether to proceed to develop a commercial mine. If CMR decides to move forward with plans for a larger-scale operation, a new and significantly more complex environmental review and permitting process would begin, including an Environmental Impact Statement and significant review from the city of Emily, the surrounding community, as well as permitting by state and federal regulatory agencies. The review and permitting processes for a commercial operation could take several years.
“Our goal from the beginning has been to make sure our local community receives the benefit from a local resource,” Kraemer said. “We have gone through this demonstration process to learn more about the ore and its makeup, and to see if this water-based process could work. We are encouraged by what we have seen, but we now need to get all of the information together to help us make the best decision about what happens next.”
CMR purchased the land and mineral rights in Emily in 2008. The 12-acre site, CMR reports, contains about one billion pounds of the richest manganese ore known in North America.
Comments (6)
Add commentrobbed
ask the neighbors who used to own the land how they came out! the city of emily condemed the land rather then pay for it!
Emily
So how much did Emily sell the mineral rights and land for and did they know of its value?
ownership
I am not sure where you have gotten your information from, but the City of Emily does not own the land and to my knowledge (being a resident) never has.
oh
I read the first post that the city of Emily condemned the land rather than pay for it. I hope the landowner made out great.
I don't know much about the Emily thing
I don't know much about the Emily thing, but in most cases MN Landowners DO NOT necessariliy own the mineral rights under their properties. Most were held by the state, some by local municipalities or government orgs (DNR, for example) and some by original land grantees (Railroads, for example)
There are laws that prevent mineral rights holders from usurping domain; the "fair use" has to be compensated in consemnation proceedings, but the landowner usually can't ask for very much more than the appraised value of his land and improvements for obvious reasons. Those that are hurt the most are those that have some emotional connection to the land and want to keep it a family monument.
With the recent increase in conservation easements, the MN legislature will have to look closely at this issue. If a landowner donates or surrenders the development rights to a parcel, which law supercedes which?
From what I have heard, a
From what I have heard, a geologist owned the land and found the deposit. He went to Crow Wing Power and they purchased the land. The comment made by moonhawk was the first I have ever heard about any landowners having their land condemned. Emily is a very small town and I would find it hard to believe that would happen without everyone knowing it.