Magnetation is seeking state permission to pump water out of the old Canisteo mine pit complex near Bovey and Coleraine in advance of mining in the pit.
The company wants to bring the water down enough to expose the Buckeye Pit on the west end of the huge open-pit iron ore mine.
Grand Rapids-based Magnetation LLC, which has so far focused on recovering iron ore concentrate from old mine waste sites across the western Iron Range, is moving into new territory at the Buckeye Pit, where it could begin more traditional mining of ore reserves.
On Friday the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced it is taking public comments on the dewatering plan.
Once the water is pumped out, the company would "conduct exploratory drilling, laboratory testing and bulk sampling to determine if the iron reserves within the Buckeye Pit are suitable for mining," the DNR notes.
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The state's Executive Council in 2013 awarded Magnetation mineral rights to the Buckeye Pit area. The company would process the traditionally-mined ore at its new Plant 4 in Coleraine that began operations in December.
The Canisteo pit complex, some five miles long and covering nearly 1,500 acres, has been filling with groundwater since the last mining operations there ceased in 1985. Water in the pit is 300 feet deep in places.
It would take several months for the water to be pumped low enough to allow the testing to be done. Water from the pit would be pumped into an existing drainage system that is part of the city of Coleraine and the city of Bovey's stormwater conveyance system that empties into Trout Lake. The water then would flow or, if necessary, be pumped into the Swan River.
The DNR is accepting public comments until April 15 on an environmental assessment worksheet for the temporary dewatering project. A copy of the EAW is available at the Duluth, Coleraine and Bovey public libraries, the DNR regional office in Grand Rapids and online at www.dnr.state.mn.us .
Written comments go to Cynthia Warzecha, EAW Project Manager, Environmental Policy and Review Unit, DNR Division of Ecological and Water Resources, 500 Lafayette Rd., St. Paul, MN 55155-4025 or e-mailed to environmentalrev.dnr@state.mn.us with "Canisteo EAW" in the subject line.
