Minnesota. Legislature. Legislative Task Force on Minerals

In September 1987, the Blandin Foundation convened a Minnesota Minerals Forum composed of a diverse group knowledgeable in all facets of the mining industry. Three further meetings were held in 1987 and 1988. The group determined that Minnesota had sufficient mineral resource potential to sustain an industry that would help economically revitalize many areas of the state. They recommended that a joint Senate/House committee or commission be created to study the potential of mineral resources and determine legislation needed to foster that development.

The Legislative Task Force on Minerals was created by the 1989 legislature [Laws 1989 c335 art1 sec53] to examine issues related to Minnesota's mineral resources and the role of the state in fostering development of those resources. It examined the history of mineral development in Minnesota, studied the mineral potential of the state, held statewide hearings to obtain public input on developing that potential, and visited mining operations in Minnesota and elsewhere. In its January 1993 report, it recommended legislative action in the following areas: focus of state government on the mineral industry, leasing of state-owned and administered mineral rights, environmental review and permitting, taxation, and research, all with the objective to further the environmentally responsible development of Minnesota's vast mineral potential, provide direct jobs in rural Minnesota and indirect jobs throughout the state, increase the tax base for state and local governments, and increase funding for local communities and the state educational system from royalties for state-administered lands.

Members included Senators Ronald R. Dicklich (chair), Dennis Poppenhagen, Dennis R. Frederickson, Jim Gustafson, and Bob Lessard, and Representatives David P. Battaglia, Richard H. Jefferson, Sidney Pauly, Roger Cooper, and Marcus Marsh. The task force's coordinator was Zora Radosevich.