ARM NEWSLETTER

SEPTEMBER 2013

Aggre gate & Re ady M i x Association of Minnesota

SME Twin Cities Annual Conference Sept. 17 & 18
Silica Sand & Construction Aggregate Resources of the Upper Midwest is the title of the annual conference of the Twin Cities chapter of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME). Conference topics include: Silica sand mining Permitting best practices Minnesota mining updates Mine operations and processing Transportation, zoning, health and safety updates The conference, cosponsored with ARM of Minnesota, is set for September 17 and 18 at the Earle Brown Heritage Center in Brooklyn Center. Learn more and register at www.smetcannual conference.eventbrite.com

The steady, quiet reclamation of the Nelson aggregate mine

The funny thing about aggregate mines is how invisible most of them are despite their often massive size. Like cell towers, we live near them, drive by them, dont notice them and cant enjoy our lifestyles without them. The Nelson mine (or plant) operated by Aggregate Industries US is a great example. You can drive through Cottage Grove and St. Paul Park to fish from a one-lane bridge on Grey Cloud Island and all you hear is rippling water, rustling poplar leaves, and the songs of robins and sparrows. And yet, a mere half-mile from that bridge, is one of the largest active aggregate mines in Minnesota. Each year and in all but the coldest months, about one million tons of sand and gravel is extracted from the 2000acre site. Its plopped onto a two-mile conveyor system; piled into 16-story heaps; crushed, washed and sorted, and scooped and carried to the Mississippi River. There, barges are loaded for daily trips northward to St. Paul and Minneapolis where the sand and gravel is unloaded at Yard A and Yard D (respectively), piled 16 stories high again, and scooped and poured into dump trucks on their way to ready mix plants and construction sites. I start at Nelson where we put together five barges and leave at 6:30 a.m., said Barge Pilot Steve Plan. We go up the river to Larson (limestone mine) and pick up three more and finally arrive at Yard A (near downtown St. Paul) with eight barges five hours later. The Nelson mine has operated this way since 1954 when the J.L. Shiely Company leased the land from the Schilling family of lower Grey Cloud Island. Eventually, Aggregate Industries US leased the property in the late 1980s. A common aggregate mining practice is creating a reclamation plan, described in contracts with landowners and permits with local governments. The Nelson plant is no different. From the start, the landowner and aggregate producers had plans to reclaim the mine. Five years ago, the plans were changed to restore the original ecotype that Ojibway Indians would have recognized 200 years ago. Before European settlement, the ecotype of Grey Cloud Island was mostly oak savanna, said Bob Bieraugel, manager of environmental and land services for Aggregate Industries US Central Region. For years, we planted hundreds of spruce, pines, ash, and locust trees with limited success. Aggregate Industries US and the landowner enlisted the help of a local nonprofit, Great River Greening, to develop an oak savanna plan.

ARM has moved! Our new address is 2955 Eagandale Blvd., Eagan, MN Our PO Box and phone havent changed.

(Continued p.4)

ARM OF MINNESOTA

FRED CORRIGAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

952- 707-1250

www.chooseconcrete.com

ARM MEMBER NEWSLETTER! (continued from p. 1) The City of Cottage Grove approved the change and the savanna is beginning to take shape. Every year, Bieraugel and Nelson Plant Manager Bob Kurz renew the decades-old permit with the city. They keep the landowner informed. And they work with Great River Greening to restore the savanna landscape. The steady pulse of this large sand and gravel mine is intimately tied to the steady growth of the built environment of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Over the years, citizens have enjoyed it but dont appreciate the sand and gravel at the base of it all. The mine has supplied aggregates for sporting events we experience at the Metrodome, Mariucci Arena, Target Center, Excel Energy Center, and Target Field. It also produced aggregates used in bridges we cross on Robert Street, Washington Avenue, I-35W, and Lowry Street, and for recreation we participate in at Town Green in Maplewood and Centennial Lakes in Edina. Some 60 years after J.L. Shiely Company began extracting sand and gravel, new construction naturally has slowed and

SEPTEMBER 2013 with that, the movement of aggregates on barges. Certainly, the cessation of construction in the past five years also diminished river travel. But work is picking up again at the Nelson mine as the economy turns as slowly as one of its barges. And the dredging, conveying, and transporting of aggregates on and off the island form a surprisingly quiet backdrop as reclamation activities proceed. Ospreys and blue birds nest in structures built by mining staff. Foxes and pups trot through the brush. New oak trees and natural grasses are fenced and watered. And the Mississippi River runs its course along the banks of Grey Cloud New oaks at the Nelson mine. Photo Island. credit: Great River Greening.

PO Box 14345 St. Paul, MN 55114