Water Over Nickel is a Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe-led initiative to protect Minnesota’s clean water, communities, and natural resources from the risks of nickel mining.​ Our efforts are grounded in our commitment to preserve Minnesota’s natural environment and water resources for generations to come.

Water Over Nickel is supported by a group of organizations and experts dedicated to protecting Minnesota’s water, environment, and communities from the risks associated with nickel mining.

Learn more about Water Over Nickel.

The proposed Tamarack nickel mine puts clean water at risk for all Minnesotans. Its pollution would flow into the Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers, harming the waters, ecosystems, and communities we all depend on.​

There has never been a clean nickel mine. Nickel mining has a consistent track record of harming water quality and surrounding wildlife. It represents a significant risk to Minnesota's communities and watersheds.

The risks won’t end when the Tamarack Mine closes. Pollution and damage could persist longafter extraction ends. The effects on our drinking water, wild rice, fisheries, and the Mississippiand St. Croix River watersheds could continue far beyond any permit, project, or political term.​

The Tamarack Mine is Minnesota’s first proposed nickel mine. This project will set a precedent for how mining in Minnesota's sensitive, water‑rich landscapes is evaluated and managed in the future.​

The Tamarack Mine is a proposed nickel mine, brought forward by Talon Metals Corp in partnership with Rio Tinto. Talon Metals is a base metals and mining organization headquartered in the British Virgin Islands. Rio Tinto is an international mining conglomerate headquartered in the United Kingdom and Australia with a track record of environmentally damaging practices.

In January 2022, Talon Metals announced a partnership with Tesla, stating that the nickel sourced from the Tamarack Mine would be used to produce electric vehicle batteries. It is not confirmed that there is a signed contract between Talon Metals and Tesla.

Talon has not provided any data to verify its claims of upholding responsible mining practices.

The proposed Tamarack nickel mine poses serious risks to water, ecosystems, and Indigenous cultural resources.

Located just 1.3 miles from Round Lake and nearby homes and cultural sites, the mine would add pressure to an already stressed environment, including wild rice (manoomin), medicinal plants, and sacred areas central to cultural and spiritual practices.

Nickel mining has a well-documented history of water contamination. When mined materials are exposed to air and water, they can produce sulfuric acid, leading to acid mine drainage. This pollution can spread through both surface water and groundwater, harming aquatic life, plant systems, and drinking water sources.

The Tamarack site sits within watersheds that flow into the Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers, meaning contamination could extend far beyond the mine itself, affecting ecosystems and communities across the region.

These risks are long-term. Pollution from nickel mining can persist for decades after a mine closes, continuing to threaten water quality, fisheries, and wild rice.

As Minnesota’s first proposed nickel mine, Tamarack would also set a precedent for mining in the state’s water-rich landscapes, raising broader concerns about future environmental impacts.

Learn more about the core issues.

Talon Metals announced in 2025 that it plans to move nickel processing to North Dakota, acknowledging the risks this proposed mine poses to surrounding water, land, and communities.

But a change in location does not eliminate continuing concerns about the impact that a nickel mine, including its extraction and transportation activities, will have on the environment, surrounding communities, and the Band's cultural practices.  

There is still a risk that tailings and dust from the mine will damage the water at or near the mining site, in addition to the bodies of water and environments on the route from the mine to the processing facility. Mining is an incredibly invasive process that uses large amounts of water in mining and processing. Dust from tailings could fall off the trucks or train cars while being transported, which may occur over saturated wetlands. 

Talon Metals has not provided the public with details on how this will be done safely.

While the advancement of alternative energy is critical, nickel mining should never be the first option to advancing a green future — and it is not the only option. Other options exist to source nickel needed in electric vehicle batteries, including metal recycling. Metal recycling is a viable option that has proven successful in Europe, Japan, and China. According to the MN Center for Environmental Advocacy, recycling a ton of nickel produces 90% fewer emissions than mining.

We’ve seen rapid changes in the formulation of electric vehicle batteries. Manufacturers — like Tesla — are shifting away from cobalt and nickel in battery production due to the controversy, cost and limited supply associated with extracting these materials.  Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries are 20% cheaper, last 2-3 times longer, are significantly less flammable and have a smaller environmental footprint than nickel-cobalt batteries.  

We caution against accepting industry narratives seeking to create a false sense of urgency to extract the earth’s resources, particularly when there are long-term environmental risks to consider.