Copyright M Live Michigan
CLEVELAND, OH — U.S. steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs plans to explore sites in Michigan and Minnesota for domestic rare-earth metals. The company, which owns several Minnesota taconite facilities and two iron ore mines in the Upper Peninsula, told investors on Oct. 20 that surveys show promise in both states and expansion into rare-earth mining would align with U.S. strategy on critical minerals. Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves said the move toward rare-earth mining follows “comprehensive reviews of our ore bodies and tailings,” which identified two sites that show evidence of mineralization. The initial focus would be Michigan, Goncalves said, although he did not specify exact locations and cautioned that the effort is still early stage. “The important thing is that they are there. We found them there. And we want to make it viable,” he said. “We really believe that we have potential there. And that it will be good for Michigan — for the Upper Peninsula, primarily. And there’s even one site in Minnesota that we would go. It’s not very friendly to us, but we will still investigate there.“ “But we’ll definitely start in Michigan, the Upper Peninsula, because we love the Upper Peninsula,” he said. Rare earths are a group of metals used in small amounts but vital to high-tech products such as electric vehicle motors, consumer electronics, renewable energy and military systems. Despite their name, they’re relatively common in the Earth’s crust but are hard to extract and process economically. Most global refining and production takes place in China, which has fueled U.S. efforts to build a domestic supply chain. The metals have become a focal point in recent trade tensions and the move toward rare-earth exploration reflects shifting global trade dynamics. Company executives have credited federal tariffs on imported steel and parts with strengthening domestic manufacturing and creating new incentives for U.S.-based production. Goncalves said successful extraction would align Cleveland-Cliffs with broader U.S. strategy for critical mineral independence, “similar to what we achieved in steel.” “America’s industrial foundation must never depend on China or any other foreign source for essential minerals, and Cliffs intends to be part of the solution,” he said. In Michigan, the potential for rare earths and other critical minerals offers a possible extension of mining in a region that once thrived on iron ore and copper, but today is home to only two operating mines: the Eagle nickel and copper mine and the Tilden iron ore mine. Cleveland-Cliffs owns the Tilden Mine and the next-door Empire Mine, which has been indefinitely idled since 2016. The company asked the Trump administration for exemptions from new emissions controls at the two mines earlier this year. The hunt is on for new U.P. mineral deposits. Talon Metals, an exploration company jointly developing a new Minnesota nickel mine with Rio Tinto, has been hunting for nickel deposits in the U.P. for several years. In March, Talon announced a non-finalized deal with Eagle Mine owner Lundin to finance drilling at drilling at two exploration sites. In addition to new deposit exploration, old mine waste is being examined, too. Lundin is partner in a startup that won a $145 million federal grant awarded this year to reclaim nickel from Eagle Mine’s Humboldt Mill processing waste. The Michigan Geological Survey is using federal grants to analyze waste rock and mine tailings for traces of nickel, cobalt, copper and rare-earths that could be recovered with modern technology. The mining efforts are supported by local governments and economic development organizations but they haven’t been without pushback. Plans to develop the fully-permitted Copperwood Mine near Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park have drawn loud opposition from environmental groups and Indigenous tribes. Development of the proposed Back Forty open-pit gold mine near Menominee has apparently stalled amid fierce opposition from environmental groups and tribes.
