$20 million dollar recycling project at NewRange Copper Nickel is complete

NewRange Copper Nickel this week completed one of the largest salvage and recycle projects in Minnesota history, cleaning up the site of the former LTV Steel near Hoyt Lakes, creating a safer, cleaner work environment for the NorthMet copper nickel project.

In the $20 million project, launched in spring 2023, crews removed more than 30,000 tons of structural steel and scrap metal from within the nearly quarter-mile-long concentrator building, more than double the steel used to build US Bank Stadium, home of the Minnesota Vikings. Scrap included 32 pairs of highly recyclable ball and rod mills that once processed taconite ore in the building, erected in the 1950s.

An additional 66,000 tons of concrete carved from inside the iconic concentrator was crushed onsite yielding a 55,000-cubic-yard mountain of aggregate, to be returned to beneficial use.

“Skilled union workers accomplished this project on time and within budget, but what we are most proud of is the safe manner in which they performed the work,” said Tannice McCoy, NewRange president and general manager. “While demolition work of this nature carries with it a higher degree of risk, we did not any lost time due to injury in more than 80,000 work hours of demolition and cleanup.”

In addition to demolition and asbestos abatement, the effort involved removing a 9,000-cubic-yard landfill at the plant site. “This investment reaffirms our commitment to safely and responsibly moving the NorthMet Project forward and visibly demonstrates our promise to leave the property better than we found it,” McCoy said.

Union labor representing locals from the Operating Engineers, Laborers, Electrical Workers, Ironworkers, Millwrights, Pipefitters, and Roofers performed the work – all employed by Minnesota-based contractors Veit, Vic’s Crane & Heavy Haul, Mavo Systems, Hunt Electric, Parsons Electric, and The Jamar Company.

The demolition and cleanup position the now-empty concentrator building to be re-equipped and reused for processing copper-nickel ore when NorthMet is fully permitted and sanctioned for construction.

Separately, NewRange is undergoing a series of recently announced studies to analyze whether new mining technology and sustainability developments can further enhance the project’s environmental safeguards and mining performance. Areas under study for potential improvements are: alternatives to tailings storage, processing rate, ore transport technology, and water science. Delivering a strong project, with special emphasis on protecting water quality, remains the focus. Studies are expected to extend into much of 2025.