Protesters rallied in St. Paul Tuesday to oppose PolyMet Mining's proposed copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota, calling it "permanent pollution for temporary jobs."
About 150 people attended the rally, sponsored by the Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, urging the Dayton administration to block the mine.
An official from the state Department of Natural Resources greeted the group at the agency's headquarters and accepted its petition.
Separately, a group of PolyMet supporters held a rally of its own on the Iron Range Tuesday to show support for mining and the jobs it creates.
State regulators are due next month to release the final phase of their environmental review of the controversial project.
