Tamarack Water Alliance alerts residents in northeastern Minnesota about the environmental dangers of the proposed Talon Tamarack Mine. A group of concerned landowners and local residents founded TWA in 2022 to sound the alarm. The sulfide nickel-copper mine — a joint venture between Talon Metals Corp. and Rio Tinto — located in the rural Aitkin County and threatens local aquifers, rivers, lakes, and wetlands within the Mississippi River watershed. Minnesota regulators have not allowed a hard rock mine to open since 1979, when they determined mining companies would be hard-pressed to curb air and water pollution. TWA argues those risks exist unabated today. A 2017 University of Minnesota study shows that acid mine drainage harms wild rice beds, which surround the proposed mine. If pollution found its way in, it would threaten the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe’s centuries-long tradition of harvesting wild rice as sacred medicine and food
Minnesota is home to 10.3 million acres of wetlands, which continue to suffer loss and degradation across the state, according to the Department of Natural Resources. Photo: Library of Congress
Composed of a small group of volunteers, TWA represents the 16,000 residents of Aitkin County, detailing the ecological risks associated with Talon’s proposal in numerous reports. Nickel mining carries potential for sulfuric acid pollution and heavy metal drainage into the local bodies of water— pollution that could be also carried down the Mississippi River. Talon’s proposal would extract up to 725,000 metric tons of raw ore per year and pump 2.3 million gallons of water into the ground each day in its hunt for high-grade nickel. This could stress local aquifers and contaminate groundwater and wetlands even if the company takes precautions. About 31 percent of Aitkin County residents are low income, according to EPA data. TWA will continue to offer in-depth analyses about these unacceptable risks when the state’s Department of Natural Resources begins accepting public comments and present its findings at schools, churches and other public forums.