Earlier this week, we celebrated Labor Day, a holiday marking the importance of unions and the workers behind them. This also marks approximately a year since we signed a formal Project Labor Agreement (PLA) with the Iron Range Building and Construction Trades Council to hire union workers for the construction phase of the Twin Metals mine. It’s an agreement we’re especially proud of because we believe in the strength of Minnesota’s union workforce.

Simply put, skilled union labor will be the backbone of bringing this project to fruition. At Twin Metals, we’ve worked for a decade to develop and design a safe, 21^st century underground mine that will contribute to making Minnesota a leader in producing the responsibly sourced metals we need for our modern society. And union labor will be essential in making this a reality, because these professionals have the expertise and skills that are critical to the premier quality work we insist on for constructing our mine.

When we signed the PLA at this time last year, it marked the start of something big. The project’s construction phase is expected to produce several million hours of union construction labor and will be similar in scope to the construction of U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Then, once the mine is operational, it will bring 750 direct full-time jobs and 1,500 spinoff jobs to residents of Ely, Babbitt and the greater northeast Minnesota community – a tremendous economic impact.

As we close out the week, we’re appreciative of our rich union labor workforce and excited for the future. To hear more about the importance of the PLA for our project, we encourage you to check out this video below to hear directly from the people representing the skilled union labor Twin Metals will depend on.

Celebrating the Anniversary of the Project Labor Agreement from Twin Metals Minnesota.