Products and uses
PolyMet will produce a number of valuable metals used in our daily lives, including copper, nickel, cobalt, platinum, palladium, and gold.
While there is significant domestic demand, the United States has very few mines producing these metals. There are no domestic nickel or cobalt mines, and the U.S. imports 40% of the copper it consumes and between 80% and 95% of the platinum, palladium and gold.
While mining in the United States is strictly regulated, many countries exporting these metals have little or no environmental regulation. Pollution from these foreign mines not only harms the local environment, it also frequently becomes airborne and falls within U.S. boundaries.
PolyMet annually will produce:
- About 36,000 tons of copper.
- 8,000 tons of nickel-cobalt hydroxide to be sold for further processing.
- 106,600 troy ounces platinum, palladium and gold precipitate to be sold for further processing.