November 14, 2009
But mining company spent more than $700,000 on U.P. uranium exploration in 2009
By Eartha Jane Melzer, Michigan Messenger
Upper Peninsula lawmakers are railing against a ballot measure to create standards for uranium mining, claiming that no uranium ore has been discovered in Michigan. However, a Canadian uranium mining company says it’s found uranium in the U.P., scientists have warned that its uranium exploration could harm groundwater, and the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department is warning that residential wells in several counties already have elevated levels of the radioactive metal.
In a statement this week, Sen. Mike Prusi (D-Ishpeming), Sen. Jason Allen (R-Traverse City), Rep. Mike Lahti (D-Hancock), Rep. Steve Lindberg (D-Marquette) and Rep. Judy Nerat (D-Wallace) accused sponsors of a proposed 2010 ballot measure on mining of talking about uranium mining in order to scare people and destroy the mining industry.
“No ‘uranium mining’ activity has ever existed,” the lawmakers stated, “nor has any uranium ore been discovered, in our state.”
However, according to a July 2009 financial report from Bitterroot Resources Ltd., a 17-hole uranium exploration drilling program concluded last December “identified several areas which warrant additional exploration.” The company said it spent $717,403 on Michigan uranium exploration in the first nine months of 2009. Read the rest of this entry »
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Kennecott-Rio Tinto, Law, Michigan, uranium | Tagged: Aquila, Kennecott, Law, Michigan, Rio Tinto, uranium | 
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Posted by LSMN
July 14, 2009
Stephenson, MI - Aquila Resources, a small Canadian junior exploration company, has informed the Lake Township Board, in Menominee County, Michigan, that it intends to commence mineral production possibly as early as 2012 at its controversial “Back Forty” gold and zinc project located on the banks of the Menominee River.
Menominee River; Photo courtesy Carol Henriksen
At the township’s regular meeting, Aquila President and CEO Tom Quigley told the board that the company expects to receive mining permits from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality in 2010 and begin construction the following year. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by LSMN
December 15, 2008
by Gabriel Caplett
Menominee, Michigan – Canadian junior mining exploration company, Aquila Resources, hosted a public information meeting at the VFW Hall, Monday, to present its opinion on a controversial topic: acid rock drainage. The company has been exploring its Back Forty Project under intense opposition from local residents and elected officials. The company recently sold its Humboldt Mill facility to Kennecott-Rio Tinto. The company also supplied Kennecott with state mineral leases for its proposed Eagle Project mine over a decade ago.
Aquila hosted “guest speaker” Al Trippel, an environmental consultant with Environmental Resources Management (ERM), based out of London, England. Trippel acted as the mining company’s representative throughout Michigan’s “Part 632″ statute and rules process that crafted legislation regulating the metallic sulfide mining industry. Trippel is currently on Aquila’s payroll, conducting baseline environmental studies necessary prior to submitting a mine application.
Aquila consultant, Al Trippel; Photo courtesy Teresa Bertossi
Aquila’s advertisement for the presentation, in the Menominee County Journal, noted that the meeting was being held “in response to public requests for unbiased, educational, fact-driven information from an expert.”
Teresa Bertossi, Marquette County resident and part-time employee at Save the Wild UP, claimed that publicity surrounding the event showed a lack of “integrity” at Aquila. According to Bertossi, the advertisement did not disclose that Trippel works for the mining company and, in order to be truly unbiased, the company should “have brought in a university professor or a scientist that does not work for Aquila” to present information. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by LSMN
August 27, 2008
by Gabriel Caplett
Over 200 concerned individuals from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ontario and Michigan attended Marquette County’s Protect the Earth Summit on the first weekend in August. Saturday events included workshops on treaty rights, successful grassroots opposition to metallic sulfide mining projects and a presentation on the polluted Flambeau Mine, in Wisconsin. A rally was held, at Marquette’s Presque Isle Park that featured musicians and speakers, including Fred Rydholm, Laura Furtman, Al Gedicks, Bobby Bullet, Victor McManemy and Jim St. Arnold, as well as traditional Anishinaabe shawl and hoop dancing, performed by Megan Tucker. On Sunday, over 120 people walked to
Eagle Rock from the Yellow Dog River and held a rally and sacred eagle feather ceremony at the site of the proposed Kennecott Eagle Mine. The event was sponsored by Yellow Dog Summer, Keepers of the Water and Students Against Sulfide Mining.
Citizens from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan Walk to Eagle Rock, on the Yellow Dog Plains; Photo courtesy Teresa Bertossi
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Leave a Comment » | Eagle Mine, Kennecott-Rio Tinto, Michigan, cameco, civil disobedience, human rights, indigenous, lake superior, public land, water pollution | Tagged: Aquila, cameco, civil disobedience, human rights, Kennecott, native american, Rio Tinto, yellow dog summer | Permalink
Posted by LSMN
April 2, 2007
by Gabriel Caplett
The National Environmental Policy Act, 1969, delegates responsibility in creating an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to relevant state and federal agencies, such as the DEQ or DNR. The Michigan DEQ has allowed Kennecott Minerals to conduct its own EIA. By rejecting repeated calls by Michigan citizens and legislators for an independent United States Geological Study (USGS) hydrologic study of the Yellow Dog Plains [1], the DEQ has insured that the permit process will rely on company-projected data. This has allowed Kennecott to hire the consulting and engineering firm, Foth & VanDyke to perform an EIS for the project.
In the case of the Flambeau Mine, Kennecott Minerals hired Foth, based in Green Bay, to assist in the permitting, development and final closure of the mine, including conducting environmental studies to determine projected environmental impacts. More recently, Kennecott retained the firm’s services in producing an EIA for the Eagle Project. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by LSMN
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