Iron Range residents stay united despite divide over mining near Boundary Waters

This story is a part of a series on potential mining near the Boundary Waters. See more stories here. 

Minnesota's Iron Range has a history of iron ore mining dating back to the 1880s. But renewed conversations about copper-nickel mining in the area are fueling debate up north and beyond.

Many WCCO spoke to in Ely, Minnesota, and the surrounding areas are at odds about whether it's worth the risks and if it's the path their community should go down.

It's not a new debate. In fact, it's a long-standing conversation that likely isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"What we would get out of this, our area, would be temporary jobs. We don't actually get the copper," said Sue Schurke of Ely.

"Yes, we support mining and clean water, and we really do think we can have both," said Gerald Tyler of Up North Jobs. "We have probably 3,500 signatures from people who support copper-nickel mining. That's our identity."

Many in the area have brought concerns to Washington, D.C.

"I think this threat is the greatest threat we've ever faced," Said Becki Rahm, national chair of the campaign to save the Boundary Waters. "If we have copper-nickel mining here, we will not protect the Boundary Waters. You can't have both."

"I'm sure we can have both. We always have," said Dean DeBeltz, vice president of Twin Metals. "When you see new things, sometimes you can just put up a wall and say, oh, no, we don't want to do that. You have to see both sides of it."

"It's very much close to $200,000 to $250,000 of economic benefits toward that one individual on a union job," said Al King, an Iron Range miner looking for work.

King said you cannot find that type of pay in the tourism industry.

"We're not anti-mining; we just think copper-nickel mining, it's about the worst place for it," said Jeff Soderstrom of Ely.

"It is always in the background," said Ely Mayor Heidi Omerza.

It's also interesting where it's not discussed.

"At the council chamber, it's something that we do not, we don't talk about it," said Omerza. "It's not in our control, so we don't entertain it. There is that history which always seems to clash. You know the question is, is it part of our future?"

While many debate behind closed doors, others are out front, even when it's unpopular.

"There was a fella in our local who found out I was doing this, and he's pecking me in the chest. He goes, 'You're trying to deny my grandchildren a future!' So you understand, there's a cultural connection here that goes back generations," said Mike Maleska of Hibbing. Maleska has 42 years of experience in the mining industry.

He is part of a Hibbing-based podcasting trio focused on mining, talking about some of the hard truths they witnessed during their decades on the job.

"There's no conversation because people are very apprehensive about saying something about it," Andy Baldwin said.

WCCO asked why people don't talk about it.

"Because they feel threatened. They feel like their jobs are threatened. We are mining; mining is us," said Maleska. "You see the signs all over the roads and stuff. But it's fear."

The trio made it clear that they all support mining.

"If they're not pro-mine, then no one is," said Andy Baldwin of the ViewsRMine podcast

When asked what they are opposed to, Maleska said "pollution."

The trio says historic mines are already polluting waters up north and think Minnesota needs to get a handle on that first, and bolster systems to keep things in check before exploring any future project.

"We have no business, no business opening a copper-nickel mine here until we find out what we are going to do about this seepage that's coming out of these seven tailings reservoirs," said Maleska.

"The question isn't technically, can you do this, because I would be the guy who would hire to make this happen. Is the will really there?" said Chris Baldwin, a retired mining engineer.

Most people on the Iron Range have a mining connection. That connection can make it complex.

"I'm not a proponent of just the old business," said Al King. "I think ignoring concerns is a mistake. We uniquely have, as a union labor, the ability to put a stop to something if we see pollution or report it immediately."

"There's no such thing as a safe mine. You have to put it in a place where it's socially acceptable, where it won't damage three protected landscapes, where it is not in the middle of great water wilderness," said Rahm.

But in a polarizing time where divides can feel deep, the area also listens.

"I feel like we're all sympathetic to people that want higher-paying jobs; there's no doubt about it," Said Schurke. "Our neighbors here, we might disagree; we all still, for the most part, get along because we do respect each other."

"We don't want to see pollution up here," said Tyler.

Many WCCO spoke with want the same thing; they just disagree on how to get there.

"You know, we all crave to see these towns in northern Minnesota prospering," said Paul Schurke of Ely.

"We have the technology and the knowledge and how to do this properly. This isn't 1973 anymore," said Twin Metals Chief Geologist Kevin Boerst.

It's clear, though, the stakes are high. So they navigate into the unknown, trying to find the path forward.

"There are strong feelings on both sides of the mining issue, but that's not what Ely's all about," said Soderstrom. "This has been an issue for years and years. And it's still a wonderful community where people pull for each other, work together, figure things out, even when they disagree."

"We get along up here, we really do. I know that people don't think we do, but we all really do want the same thing, and I think that sometimes that the noise of us not getting along rises above the fact that we all help each other out," said Omerza. "We are a community that gets along and moves forward."

"Probably 95% of things we agree on," said DeBeltz. "We all want to protect what we have."

"I want everybody to realize that they have a place in the discussion," said Rahm.

"We're all here to stay," said King. "I believe that it's us carrying the torch to protect what we have left."