Cooperative Mineral Resources, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Crow Wing Power (an electric Cooperative in central Minnesota), was formed in late 2008 to purchase and develop this rich geological manganiferous ore deposit in Emily, Minnesota, U.S.  Many steps have been taken since that time to ensure we have a project that meets our stringent environmental and economic viability goals.  The deposit is located in a pristine area surrounded by lakes and Minnesota beauty, therefore we are ultimately driven to bring this project to a plan that successfully extracts important minerals, preserves and/or enhances the esthetics and health of our area, and improves the economy of our Cooperative members, the region and the State of Minnesota.   

We pursued this manganese/iron project in light of new technology, using manganese, that could reduce SOx and NOx emissions from coal-fired electric generating plants. We had discussions in the early years of 2000 with the University of Minnesota doing research and development on a new technique that used manganese to reduce emissions.  The owner of the Emily land was also part of our research team. We purchased the land after analyzing the potential and seeing the value of manganese and iron for the future of North America. Currently, all manganese needed in the United States for the steel and battery industries is imported and controlled by foreign countries. We feel the rich manganese and iron in this deposit will be of extreme value to the rechargeable and storage battery industry as well as the upcoming renewable energy world we all need to embrace.