Dayton: PolyMet must set aside funds for mine cleanup

Gov. Mark Dayton said Tuesday the state would ensure that PolyMet Mining Corp. sets aside money for a potential cleanup effort before it would be allowed to move ahead with a proposed copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota.

Such a fund is a requirement in state law, and Dayton said it's too early to say how large a sum that might be for the pending project. But after returning from a tour of an abandoned precious metals mine in South Dakota now in the midst of a multimillion dollar cleanup, the governor said the trip reinforced the need to make sure the state has money in hand for a reclamation effort.

"It's a textbook example of how not to do it," Dayton said of the Gilt Edge Mine, which went bankrupt more than a decade ago and is now a federal Superfund cleanup site. "That's the reason that you want to learn from somebody else's mistakes."

Dayton's administration is still reviewing the proposed Iron Range operation for environmental concerns. His South Dakota visit is one of two trips he's making as he weighs what he pegs as one of the toughest decisions of his two terms as governor. Dayton also plans to travel to a newer mine in Michigan later this week.

PolyMet spokesperson Bruce Richardson said the company is prepared to comply with state laws once the project reaches the permitting process. That won't come at least until the state issues a final environmental report on the project next month.

"We cannot mine, we cannot get a permit without having that bankruptcy assurance in place," Richardson said.