from Keweenaw Now:
Two citizen groups — the Wisconsin Resources Protection Council and the Center for Biological Diversity — and Laura Gauger (formerly Furtman), who is a member of both groups, recently filed a Clean Water Act citizen suit against Flambeau Mining Company, a subsidiary of Rio Tinto / Kennecott, over its partially reclaimed Flambeau Mine near Ladysmith, Wis.
To read the rest of Michele Bourdieu’s article visit Keweenaw Now.
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Kennecott-Rio Tinto | Tagged: center for biological diversity, clean water act, flambeau mine, Kennecott, Rio Tinto, rusk county, Wisconsin, wisconsin resources protection council | 
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Posted by LSMN
Marquette County road commissioners were told tonight that Rio Tinto’s currently-approved and original ore hauling plan does not involve heavy truck traffic through Marquette, but instead delivery to the LS&I rail line, northwest of Marquette, that avoids heavy truck traffic through the streets of Marquette, Negaunee and Ishpeming.
“I don’t understand why the road and some of the transportation issues that are being raised now were not raised when Kennecott first put in their mine transportation application initially, and which was amproved,” said County Commissioner Mike Quayle, reading from a personal statement. Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | Kennecott-Rio Tinto | Tagged: Eagle Mine, Kennecott, marquette county, mining, Rio Tinto, woodland road | Permalink
Posted by LSMN
Editorial from Headwaters on the Rio Tinto ore hauling controversy:
Last week Rio Tinto announced plans to drop its pursuit of the 22-mile 595/Woodland Road to haul ore from its Eagle Mine to the Humboldt Mill, in Marquette County. The company’s project director, Andrew Ware, claimed Rio Tinto will now “move forward with the originally designated route” and drive through the city streets of Marquette.
Problem is, Rio Tinto doesn’t really have an approved route to do so. Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | Kennecott-Rio Tinto | Tagged: Eagle Mine, Kennecott, marquette, Michigan, Rio Tinto | Permalink
Posted by LSMN
I’d like to call Kennecott’s bluff.
It’s likely Kennecott isn’t even fully considering the “new” haul route through Marquette. It’s more likely a red herring – a manipulation to try to force public sentiment back the other way – to get the original road–595–approved while skirting around the law and not sharing all of the alternatives with the public.
Why bluff? Well, for the same reasons you might in a game of poker, to provoke a fold by an opponent who holds a better hand. Kennecott is trying to use the “new” route to get locals to argue their case for them. Third party advocacy is preferable to direct corporate advocacy, especially when it has the potential to help eliminate federal involvement. Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | Kennecott-Rio Tinto | Tagged: Eagle Mine, haul road, Kennecott, Rio Tinto, woodland road | Permalink
Posted by LSMN
by mining expert Jack Parker (posted from Keweenaw Now):
Those who discuss and argue about the best and worst haul-road proposals are working for Kennecott. They have been duped — by “intelligence” at Rio Tinto/Kennecott — into making the topic appear to be acceptable and legitimate. It is neither acceptable nor legitimate. Don’t feel bad — they do it all the time, world-wide. Big budget!
My main contention is that Kennecott does not have a permit for any road, anywhere; and they know it, so they avoid that topic and divert the attention of opponents and innocent bystanders from it by fomenting discussions and arguments which are, in reality, pointless. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by LSMN
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:
Leave a Comment » | Kennecott-Rio Tinto | Tagged: county road 595, EPA, Kennecott, Rio Tinto, wetlands, woodland road | Permalink
Posted by LSMN
From 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
Posted by LSMN
Wisconsin 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.
Leave a Comment » | Kennecott-Rio Tinto, Wisconsin | Tagged: center for biological diversity, clean water act, flambeau mine, Kennecott, mining, Rio Tinto, wisconsin resources protection council | Permalink
Posted by LSMN
Another 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
Posted by LSMN
from the Salt Lake Tribune‘s Jeremiah Stettler:
Salt Lake County isn’t ready to relinquish more than 800 acres of its rugged Rose Canyon holdings — not without more stringent environmental safeguards from the prospective buyer, Kennecott.
Mayor Peter Corroon has shelved the sale of Rose Canyon indefinitely, arguing that mandatory air- and water-quality monitoring should be part of any deal.
“I will not sign a contract without agreement for air and water monitoring,” he vowed Thursday. Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: Kennecott, Rio Tinto, rose canyon, utah | Permalink
Posted by LSMN
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