By: Jeff Beach (North Dakota Monitor)
BEULAH, N.D. – A former coal mine in western North Dakota that will be converted into a processing site for nickel mined in Minnesota was touted Wednesday as a way for the U.S. to reduce its reliance on China and other countries for critical minerals needed for electronics and electric vehicles.
The processing plant operated by Talon Metals will bring 150 jobs to Beulah, with processing expected to begin in 2028.
Electric vehicle maker Tesla has contracted to buy about half the nickel processed in Beulah. Mike Kicis, president of Talon Metals, said the Department of Defense is another likely user of the nickel and other minerals.
The raw ore will come from a mine near Tamarack in north-central Minnesota. It will be shipped by rail about 475 miles west to the Westmore Mining site just outside Beulah.
The reborn mine site was introduced as the Beulah Minerals Processing Facility in an agreement signing ceremony in Beulah.
North Dakota officials were at the signing ceremony to highlight what they said was the importance of domestic production of critical minerals such as nickel.
“It is a real national security issue,” Gov. Kelly Armstrong said of the U.S. reliance on China and countries for critical minerals such as nickel.
Armstrong said the agreement is “proof that North Dakota could be a leader in cutting edge, innovative projects combining economic development with environmental responsibility and community engagement.”
The plan is contingent on permitting in North Dakota and Minnesota and at the federal level. The North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality is among the agencies that will review the project.
The mine has been opposed by some Native American and environmental groups in Minnesota that say the mining could pollute sensitive waters.
Kicis said Talon has tried to address environmental concerns at the mine site by making plans for a building over the mine opening so railcars can be loaded indoors.
Some of the environmental concerns have been about the processing that is slated for Beulah and the waste, also known as tailings, that results from separating the nickel and other minerals.
Talon officials said Wednesday that there are potential uses for the waste, such as concrete, with the ash from burned coal as an ingredient.
U.S. Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said the $365 million investment is an economic win and by recycling the waste products to make road-building materials, is an environmental win.
The project is being supported by a nearly $115 million Department of Energy grant that was announced by the Biden administration in 2022.
Kicis said that without the federal grant, the project would have been “a real challenge.”
While welcomed by local officials, the project also will create some challenges, such as attracting labor and having enough housing for the workers at the new project.
“All good things are a challenge,” Granville “Beaver” Brinkman, the economic development director for Beulah, said.
He said when the mine was at its peak, it had about 100 employees. Since it has been in its reclamation phase, he said there have been about 40 workers at the site. Coal production stopped at the site in 2022.
Beulah Mayor Sean Cheatley said he hopes that there won’t be the need for crew camps when construction starts next year as planned. He said there also will be increased traffic for the town to deal with, but said it is good for the community and its neighbors.
“It’s good for Beulah. It’s good for Hazen. It’s good for Mercer County. It’s good for the whole nation,” Cheatley said.
