UMD LSBE Bureau of Business and Economic Research
Economic
Impact:
Mesaba Metals Copper
and Nickel Mining in Northeast Minnesota
Mesaba Metals, LLC
About the project
The UMD Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) was asked to study and estimate economic impacts of a new copper nickel processing plant using a new mining technology (CESL) in Hoyt Lakes for the East Range Joint Powers Board. The economic model used was IMPLAN. The results are presented in PowerPoint presentations as well as this final report.
The BBER worked closely with Teck Cominco, the East Range Joint Powers Board, and others to determine the key assumptions for development of the IMPLAN model.
Note: the budget for this project did not include surveys: therefore we used the IMPLAN model’s defaults. These defaults, if inaccurate would skew the results. A non-survey IMPLAN I-0 (Input-Output) model for a region is derived from a national set of structural matrices. The national model represents the ''average” condition for a particular industry. Consequently, without adjustments for regional differences, the national production functions do not, necessarily, represent industries comprising a local or regional economy. Use of Regional Purchasing Coefficients (RPCs) is one way to eliminate some of the bias inherent in non-survey models. However, to change the RPCs means changing the industry production function.
All region study definitions and impact model assumptions were provided and agreed on before work with the model began.
Contract end date: June 30, 2003.