The Marquette Mining Journal is reporting that Rio Tinto is once again cancelling plans to build a controversial ore haul road through remote lands in northwestern Marquette County [Read previous Headwaters' coverage of this issue by contributor Catherine Parker]. The decision comes after a December meeting where federal officials made clear that original objections to the road project would not change simply because the company now planned it to be a public, instead of a private road:
Rio Tinto Wilderness Haul Road Plan Cancelled a Second Time
January 18, 2011
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Kennecott-Rio Tinto | Tagged: county road 595, EPA, Kennecott, Rio Tinto, wetlands, woodland road | 
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Lawsuit Filed Against Kennecott’s Flambeau Mine
January 18, 2011From a press release submitted today:
MADISON, Wis.— The Wisconsin Resources Protection Council, the Center for Biological Diversity and Laura Gauger filed a Clean Water Act citizen suit today against Flambeau Mining Company over its partially reclaimed Flambeau Mine near Ladysmith, Wis. According to the suit, the mining company is violating federal law by discharging pollutants, including potentially toxic metals like copper, iron and zinc, into the Flambeau River and a tributary known as “Stream C” that flows across the company’s property. Read the rest of this entry »
1 Comment | Kennecott-Rio Tinto, Wisconsin | Tagged: center for biological diversity, clean water act, flambeau mine, Kennecott, Rio Tinto, wisconsin resources protection council | Permalink
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WPR: “The Costs and Benefits of Mining Debated in Rusk County”
January 4, 2011Wisconsin Public Radio carried a story December 28 on a new federal lawsuit filed by the Wisconsin Resources Protection Council and the Center for Biological Diversity related to Kennecott’s now-closed Flambeau Mine, in Wisconsin.
Listen to the story at the Wisconsin Resources Protection Council.
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Citizen Asks “Who owns our air and water, British CEOs or Utah citizens?”
January 1, 2011Another great opinion piece in the Salt Lake Tribune on Rio Tinto’s disregard for the local community surrounding its massive Bingham Canyon Copper Mine:
The United States may have gained its independence from England after winning the Revolutionary War, but today Utah finds itself locked in a David and Goliath struggle with a new version of the British Empire — London-based mining colossus Rio Tinto.
Our nation’s 1872 mining law is a legal relic from the pick-and-shovel age, still being used by mining companies, even foreign ones, to lay claim to American public assets at 1872 prices.
With little environmental restraint or public health protection, it still allows miners to virtually steal public land, paying next to nothing to the government, poisoning the land and water and often leaving American taxpayers to clean up the mess.
Rio Tinto/Kennecott has exploited every word of this law while putting on a public facade proclaiming their environmental sensitivity and community loyalties. Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | Kennecott-Rio Tinto | Tagged: bingham canyon, copper, Kennecott, oquirrh mountains, Rio Tinto, salt lake, utah | Permalink
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Kennecott Plans to Dump Toxic Amounts of Selenium Into Great Salt Lake
December 22, 2010Citizens in the Salt Lake Valley (Utah) have been putting the pressure on Kennecott to reduce emissions at its coal-fired power plant, the largest source of airborne pollutants in an area with some of the worst air quality in the country. Recently, their efforts paid off and Kennecott will be converting the plant to burn natural gas. This, of course, carries with it problems, as well, but is seen by many citizens to be a step in the right direction (and one that likely wouldn’t have happened without an outraged public). Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | Health, Kennecott-Rio Tinto, water pollution | Tagged: coal, Kennecott, natural gas, Rio Tinto, selenium, utah, water pollution | Permalink
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Rio Tinto Sells Majority Stake in Huge Nickel Project
December 22, 2010Rio Tinto has two nickel projects going right now: Eagle (in Michigan) and the nickel-laterite project in Sulawesi, an island in Indonesia. Indonesia is looking to craft laws that would allow the country to have more benefits from proposed mines than in the past. Stronger mining laws that benefit Indonesia would possibly cut into Rio Tinto’s profits, something the company isn’t keen on being a part of.
Does Rio Tinto’s move to scale back its plans for nickel mining in Indonesia mean the same for its plans in Michigan? Not likely. Read the rest of this entry »
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Rio Tinto Tries to Avoid Federal Oversight with Eagle Mine Plan
March 2, 2010Rio Tinto (Kennecott’s parent company) has come to appreciate the ease that comes with securing permits through the State of Michigan, rather than the federal government. Now, with state regulatory departments combining to form the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the company is likely to get what it wants more quickly in order to try opening the Eagle Mine this year.
From an article by the AP‘s John Flesher:
A company preparing to build a nickel and copper mine in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula wants to change its wastewater treatment system in a way that could negate the requirement for a federal permit, officials said Tuesday. Read the rest of this entry »
1 Comment | Eagle Mine, Kennecott-Rio Tinto, water pollution | Tagged: dnre, Eagle Mine, Kennecott, Michigan, Rio Tinto, water pollution | Permalink
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Event Held Supporting 560 Locked Out Rio Tinto Workers
February 16, 2010From the Marquette, Michigan Mining Journal:
A small handful of participants turned out Monday night in Marquette for an event supporting the cause of about 560 U.S. Borax workers locked out of their jobs in southern California by Rio Tinto, the parent company of the Kennecott Eagle Minerals Company. Read the rest of this entry »
2 Comments | economy, Kennecott-Rio Tinto, workers | Tagged: economy, Rio Tinto, workers, yellow dog summer | Permalink
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Video: Hearing on Rio Tinto’s Michigan Haul Road
February 11, 2010
Leave a Comment » | Eagle Mine, economy, Kennecott-Rio Tinto, Law, Michigan, public land, water pollution, wildlife | Tagged: civil disobedience, Eagle Mine, Kennecott, Law, Michigan, public land, Rio Tinto, water pollution, wildlife | Permalink
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Rio Tinto Reneging on Power Upgrade Plans
February 10, 2010Despite claiming at public meetings in Powell Township that a $6.4 million power upgrade specifically for the proposed Eagle Mine would be paid for by Rio Tinto, the Alger Delta Electric Co-op is suing the owner of Granot Loma Farms for not giving up his property for free for the project. 
“This is a capitalist country”, said Tom Baldwin. “They should pay for the easements. I’m willing to sell it. I don’t have a problem with that. But I didn’t buy my property so Kennecott could profit.”
Alger Delta’s General Manager, Tom Harrell said that if the utility had to compensate Baldwin for his property “that just drives up the cost of electricity for everybody.”
Baldwin contends that Alger Delta has paid non-customers for easements.
“Membership is like being a prisoner, because they have a monopoly and you have to buy electricity from them”, Baldwin said.
Leave a Comment » | Eagle Mine, Kennecott-Rio Tinto, Michigan | Tagged: Eagle Mine, Kennecott, Michigan, Rio Tinto | Permalink
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