NEWS RELEASE

March 28, 2023

Contact: Arne Carlson
612.414.3126

Carlson Group: Minnesota Mining Permit Laws Are Archaic

Requests Governor Walz Declare Moratorium to Protect Human Health

In a letter sent to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, former Minnesota Governor Arne Carlson has
requested a “full temporary moratorium on all (copper sulfide mining) projects that threaten human
health.”

The Carlson letter comes on the day court proceedings continue on whether a design put forth by
PolyMet Mining to hold residue from copper-nickel mining near Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe
Area Wilderness Area can be safely constructed. Carlson charged that any permit for such construction
is based on “archaic laws that totally neglect the impact on health or the economies and quality of life of
nearby communities.”

In his letter to the governor’s office, Carlson noted that Governor Walz had also expressed his concern in
2019 when he suggested the need to modernize permit laws, adding that the state’s own experts could
not vouch for the safety of the PolyMet project.

The role of mining giant Glencore was also highlighted in the Carlson letter. Carlson charged that Walz
had previously admitted Glencore’s engagement in the project, and despite a Walz promise, the
company is still not listed on the permit request put forward by PolyMet.

“Glencore is clearly one of the most corrupt companies in the world,” Carlson wrote, adding that the
company’s “main weapon appears to be the bribery of public officials in order to extrapolate the world’s
natural resources using the cheapest and most environmentally harmful tools.” Carlson noted
Glencore’s recent fines for bribery on an international scale, including a $1.5 billion fine in a U.S. Federal
District Court ruling. “The scope of the criminal bribery scheme is staggering”, Carlson wrote in his letter,
calling Glencore’s actions a “criminal enterprise.”

Carlson suggests “the whole issue of integrity in government is central to a democracy and a full public
discussion on integrity is long overdue.” He charged that the Walz administration and even members of
the state legislature appear to favor a relationship with “a totally corrupt foreign corporation.”

“We, in Minnesota, must never assume that there is a wall of virtue surrounding and protecting our
state,” Carlson wrote, adding that “this comes about only with a vigilant and caring public and media.”

(Continued on next page)

Page 2
Carlson Request for Moratorium

In his letter to Governor Walz, Carlson suggests three courses of action:

1. A complete review of current mining laws and their applicability to today’s standards as they
relate to sulfide mining. Certainly, matters of health, economic impact, quality of life should be
incorporated into the process;
2. The imposition of an immediate and broad temporary moratorium on all permits that place
human health in jeopardy until new and more appropriate laws are in place;
3. A non-negotiable insistence that the parent company of PolyMet be on the mining permit and
that it assume full and complete liability

In closing his letter to Governor Walz, Carlson admitted it’s unlikely any change in state permitting will
be discussed during the current legislative session. That being the case, Carlson indicated it’s likely he
will hold a series of events around the state this summer. “We are open to public debates, public
forums, public question and answer news conferences and anything that will open the door to a broader
public understanding,” Carlson wrote.

“After all, wrote Carlson. “It is the public that is being placed at risk. They will suffer the loss of the
BWCA, Lake Superior, and so much of the ‘Great Outdoors’ which provides them with fishing, hunting,
camping, hiking and recreational opportunities. But, above all, it places so much of the state’s healthy
drinking water in serious jeopardy.”

In his closing to the letter to Governor Walz, Carlson attached a link to a three minute video produced by
the Duluth for Clean Water organization that he said “clearly points out the absolute need for a
moratorium and an extensive statewide public debate.”

The letter drafted by former Governor Carlson was signed by former legislators Tom Berkelman and
Janet Entzel, Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness Executive Director Chris Knopf, and Duke
Skorich, President of Duluth-based Zenith Research Group, Inc.

-End-

Attachment
Duluth for Clean Water video link:
https://youtu.be/iIStKkSZRe4