EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT

Jim Tieberg, Division Manager of Mining

Jim, who is approaching his five-year anniversary with PolyMet, is responsible for overseeing mine development, construction and operations. He has a bachelor's in geology and a master's in business administration, both from the University of Minnesota Duluth. He lives in Virginia, Minn., with his wife Ann, an elementary school teacher, and two children. His daughter will be a freshman this fall at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.

Jim Tieberg

What does your job entail?

As we go through the permitting process, I spend much of my time assisting the environmental engineering team with information about mine operations, mining equipment, the layout of the open pits and stockpiles, and geology. Some days I am involved in budgeting and planning for construction and operation of the mine and coordinate the work done by numerous engineering groups. I stay informed on the latest in mining equipment because the technology associated with safety, exhaust emissions, maintenance and mine management systems is changing rapidly. I am also part of a group that advises local community and technical colleges to insure the schools are preparing students for future mining operating and maintenance positions.

After permitting, I will be very busy working on construction at the mine site and the tailings basin, and preparing for mine operations. I will be involved with the hiring of mine supervisors and employees, training of new employees, developing safety standards and operating procedures, and acquiring mining equipment. My role will evolve from managing mine site development to managing mine operations.

Where did you grow up?

Mt. Iron, Minnesota.

What is your favorite thing about where you live?

Like many people who live in northern Minnesota, I like to fish and boat, especially in Voyageurs National Park. I also enjoy hunting, snowmobiling, and spending time at our cabin on Crane Lake. Virginia is conveniently located, so we can easily get to Duluth and the Twin Cities for events and to visit family members when we aren't busy in Virginia or relaxing at Crane Lake.

PROJECT FOOTPRINT

Strategically developed to be compact

PolyMet's mine pit footprint (in tan) shown within Minntac's, for comparison.

You may be wondering how big the PolyMet project will be. To put it into perspective, our mine pits, which will be 2.5 miles long by 0.5 mile wide, will be less than a third the size of U.S. Steel - Minntac's mine pit. We will be initially permitted for 20 years. Minntac has been in existence since 1967.

One reason we chose to locate our plant at the former LTV plant site was the opportunity to reuse an existing industrial site. (LTV was a taconite mine that closed in 2001.) When operations cease, the site will be left cleaner than it is today�thanks to PolyMet's plant closure plans, which are financially guaranteed before operations begin and updated annually during operation.

The proposed mine site will have two pits. After closure, the pits will be restored as a lake and a wetland. In fact, we will create and protect more wetlands than we impact. Safe collection and treatment of water is essential. The mine site and plant site will each have a water treatment facility, which is currently being demonstrated at a reverse osmosis pilot plant. We will have more on this in our next issue.

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