EPA Critique of PolyMet Mine February 2010
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a strong critique of an environmental review of PolyMet’s proposed NorthMet mine, located outside of Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota, and is recommending the mine “must not proceed as proposed.”
According to the agency, PolyMet’s project “may have substantial and unacceptable adverse impacts on aquatic resources of national importance.”
EPA and Fish and Wildlife Service Retract Concerns with Rio Tinto’s Humboldt Mill Project
In June 2009, the EPA and USFWS expressed concern with the potential for Rio Tinto’s Humboldt Mill project, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, to violate laws protecting water quality. By January 2010, the agencies had retracted their concerns so long as Rio Tinto adequately monitors the pollution.
MI Senator Mike Prusi Anti-Ballot Press Release
Statement posted as a typical example of the bizarre rhetoric coming from the Rio Tinto side of the debate that is taken seriously in mainstream media. Endorsed by all but one state politician representing Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Senator Prusi takes the interested reader to a fantasy land where sulfide mining is a long-term boon to local economies and mine opponents are dishonest urbanites trying to deceive local people into voting to “ban any future mining.” Insightful, whether or not you support the “MiWater” ballot proposal.
Waiting over a year to make a final decision on a contested case regarding the DEQ’s decision to approve Rio Tinto’s Eagle Project mining application, the agency issued a final decision on January 14, 2010, claiming that Native American treaty and spiritual rights are irrelevant to their decision. Steven Chester, who was supposed to make the final decision, resigned from his post as DEQ director on January 4. The agency will no longer exist on January 17, when it will be re-combined with the Department of Natural Resources.
The final approval decision was made by the DEQ’s Senior Policy Director, Frank Rusnick. Although the DEQ was waiting to hear from Judge Richard Patterson regarding native rights to worship at Eagle Rock – potential site of Rio Tinto’s mine – oddly, the DEQ decided to give final approval before getting a response from Patterson.
Michigan’s machiavellian contested case process is interesting. First, the DEQ makes an approval decision on a project. That decision can be contested but a final decision on the contested case is, ironically, decided by the DEQ itself.
EPA and Fish and Wildlife Service Raise Concerns with Rio Tinto’s Humboldt Mill Application
On May 27, 2009, the USFWS wrote to the EPA addressing concerns that some of Rio Tinto’s assumptions in its proposed Humboldt Mill application, regarding water quality, are inaccurate.
On June 19, the EPA forwarded the USFWS’s letter to the DEQ, adding:
” Until we receive the additional information requested we cannot make a determination regarding whether this project complies with the section 404 (b) (1) Guidelines, and we object to the issuance of a permit for this project.”
Before Rio Tinto addressed these concerns, the DEQ issued preliminary approval of the project, on October 7, 2009.
Uranium in Michigan Report to Governor 1982
State of Michigan report on uranium exploration and mining when the State was realistic about the public health affects of uranium mining and an educated public was staunchly opposed to uranium mining in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Judge Patterson July 2009 Eagle Project Contested Case Recommendation
Administrative court recommendation regarding the legality of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality’s issuance of mining permits for Kennecott-Rio Tinto’s proposed Eagle Project metallic sulfide mine. While siding with Kennecott on all technical points, Judge Patterson maintains (at the end of document) that the DEQ failed to consider the religious rights of Native American tribes (as required by law) when approving Kennecott’s application.
Maki Court Testimony June 19 2009
Maki Court Testimony June 20 2009
The previous two documents encompass the contested case testimony of Joe Maki (coordinator for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality’s review of Kennecott-Rio Tinto’s Eagle Project application). In court proceedings regarding the DEQ’s approval, Maki admitted under oath that neither he nor his review team applied a central tenet of Michigan’s new metallic mining law in approving Kennecott’s application. The law states, “The applicant has the burden of establishing that the … application … will result in a mining operation that reasonably minimizes actual or potential adverse impacts on air, water and other natural resources.” Maki also acknowledged that Kennecott does not have backup plans for major catastrophes, such as a mine collapse, contamination of aquifers, mine flooding and others.
Sainsbury April 18 2006 Letter
Sainsbury November 9 2006 Report
The previous five documents include reports written Dr. David Sainsbury (a rock mechanics expert hired by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to review mine stability portions of Kennecott-Rio Tinto’s Eagle Project application). Sainsbury maintained that Kennecott’s conclusions regarding the crown pillar “are not considered to be defensible” and “do not reflect industry best practice.”
Report, commissioned by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, regarding the deletion of Dr. Sainsbury’s documents (the rock mechanics expert, hired by the DEQ, to critique the mine stability portions of Kennecott-Rio Tinto’s Eagle Project application) by DEQ geologist, Joe Maki. The report concludes that, because Maki said that the deletion was not intentional there was no wrong doing or foul play on the part of Maki and the DEQ.
A sworn affidavit by Jack Wittman testifying that a consultant hired by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (Dr. David Sainsbury) to review portions of Kennecott-Rio Tinto’s Eagle Project application relating to mine stability, referred to the mine plan as “high school level” work.
KEMC Eagle Project A Fraudulent Mining Permit Application
Easy to read report by mining industry consultant and rock mechanics expert, Jack Parker, on major failures in Kennecott-Rio Tinto’s Eagle Project mine plan.
Mining for Public and State Approval
Detailed and useful report by Teresa Bertossi on Kennecott Minerals’ (subsidiary of Rio Tinto) strategies to overcome public resistance to metallic sulfide mining projects in Wisconsin and Michigan.
Five Lectures on Mining by Mining Geophysicist Mark Muller (from the London Mining Network)
“Ore Mineralogy and Ore Bodies”
“Ore Processing and Metal Recovery”
“Environmental and Social Concerns”
*To view the lectures in full screen, click on the screen icon in the bottom right corner of the initial report image
LSMN
Eve Divine
doncorvette
[...] Reports and Documents [...]
[...] Rio Tinto is actively exploring throughout the upper Great Lakes region. Despite company projections that it would open by 2008, Rio Tinto’s design of the metallic sulfide Eagle Mine, in Michigan, has been accused of “incompetence” by mining expert, Jack Parker, while a rock mechanics expert commissioned by the State of Michigan, Dr. David Sainsbury, expressed concerns that conclusions in Rio’s application “are not considered to b… [...]