DULUTH - One day after Gov. Mark Dayton came out strongly against the proposed Twin Metals copper mine near Ely, opponents of the project piled on, releasing results of a statewide poll showing two-thirds of Minnesotans do not want a mine near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
The poll found that 67 percent of Minnesotans questioned oppose "sulfide mines on the edge of the Boundary Waters Wilderness" while only 16 percent support it.
The poll was released Tuesday, paid for by the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters and conducted in mid-February by Washington-based Anzalone Liszt Grove Research.
The term "sulfide mining" is often used by opponents to describe copper-nickel mining because the minerals are locked inside rock that is high in sulfide. It's that sulfide that can spur acidic runoff when the rock is exposed to air and water. The poll had an error margin of 4.4 percent.
