Proposed Iron Range mine offers threat, promise

I hope all those Friends of the BWCA all live next to it. Otherwise clean up the Mississippi River in your own backyard and get your air quality standards up in the Metro area. If you like the timber wolves have the DNR trap them up north and transplant these native animals back into the Minnesota River valley to take care of the deer problem in the Metro area.

There are many baseless environmental concerns from mine opponents. I expect a more balanced perspective will come from discussions with the
informed real players on this project once the meetings get started. Focusing on the opponents with the concerns for financial assurances due to the legacy
of other copper mines is no longer a valid argument with the use of new mining technology available and proposed by Polymet. This article fails to inform
the readers that mining has changed, and that Minnesota is one of the strictest states to mine in. Also, to assert that Polymet can't mine safely because other
mines elsewhere in the past did not is poor and flawed logic to use for an argument against Polymet. In making critical economic decisions for our state, the
people need mature, open-minded, rational thinking leaders and media reporters. Saying Copper mining can not be done safely and responsibly is intended
solely to stop mining. Rather than help both sides come to a meaningful place where all can benefit and move forward, we use misinformation to polarize the
issues. Polymet can mitigate harmful environmental effects of mercury with new filtration systems and sulfides with re-engineered modern liners, dikes and
ditch systems that capture and treat these pollutants.
Polymet will have satisfactory financial assurances in place to ensure a proper closure of the mine. A reclaimation plan that is fully financed by the mine
can be and will be in place to protect the public from needing to fund any clean-up and reclaimation.
To say todays mines can't change and be safe and responsible is like a person saying "My ex-spouse cheated on me, lied to me, spent all my money,
then walked away leaving me with the bills . Therefore I will never trust another potential suiter again or ever get married". Now that sounds pretty irrational,
and smacks of extreme bias. Someone not being able to separate the injuries of the past from the future is someone who is scarred and close-minded.
How can they make objective decisions? Someone that judges everyone they meet by the bad behavior of a few bad actors is stuck in a negative feedback
loop that prevents them from being open to new information that could challenge their old belief system. That type of thinking is dysfunctional and
doomed to continously fail. It is based on prejudice and fear; rather than open-mindedness and fairness. We all have a right to be judged by our own actions
alone, and not the actions of all the bad actors that look like us. Let us take a fresh look at the facts and make decisions on the facts, leave all the what-ifs
and prejudices caused by past misdeeds in the past where they belong and move forward. Living in the past means we don't get to live in the present or our
future.

Be worried. Consider the possible consequences of major geologic changes. This type of activity is always worthy of study by INDEPENDENT experts. Has this truly been done?
Brian, Bassett Lake