A Canadian National Railroad locomotive and an LS&I Railroad made contact with a propane tank car at the LS&I Eagle Mills yard early Friday morning.

Due to the concern of a potential leak of propane gas, employees at the Eagle Mills yard, along with residents in homes in a radius of a half mile, were temporarily evacuated as a precaution.

The evacuation lasted less then two hours and residents were allowed to return to their homes after it was determined there was no propane leak.

A leak of an undetermined amount of diesel fuel from the locomotive is begin investigated and Cliffs Natural Resources personnel have contained the diesel fuel leak area.

A propane emergency response management team from downstate is on its way to the Upper Peninsula to transfer the propane from the tanker car.

Additionally, Cliffs Natural Resources has notified the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment regarding the incident.

There were no injuries and the incident remains under investigation.

Although those tailings could sweep across State Road 201 like a “violent and intense” flash flood in a 7.25-magnitude temblor, an independent investigation has determined that the slurry likely would stop before reaching any homes or buildings.

If a major earthquake strikes the Salt Lake Valley, Kennecott’s mine-tailings impoundment on the northern edge of Magna could fail and spill soupy sediment more than twice as far as the copper company had predicted.

In March 2008, the Salt Lake Tribune reported that Kennecott Utah Copper had concealed, since 1988, the potential for a major earthquake-caused tailings disaster in Magna, Utah.  The tailings impoundment is located north of Magna and stores an estimated 1 billion tons of fine mine wastes.  In 1992, the company conducted a “risk assessment” to determine if full containment of the impoundment would be more expensive than legal costs associated with property damage and citizen deaths. 

The Tribune published a 1997 confidential memo, written by Ray D. Gardner, former Chief Legal Officer for Kennecott, that is highly critical of the company’s handling of the potential tailings disaster:  “Prior management’s decisions to disregard and conceal legal advice, forego public notice, attempt to establish a residential buffer surreptitiously, collude with the State Engineer to withhold the KL studies from the public, and restrict the distribution of the Reduction Study, collectively and individually, give the appearance of a conspiracy to cover-up a profound threat to public safety.”

During the cover-up, G. Frank Joklik was Kennecott’s president and CEO (1980 to 1993).  Joklik, now a mining consultant, is currently on the board of directors for Prime Meridian Resources (PMR), a mining firm seeking to develop several metallic mineral deposits in the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

To read more about what Joklik and Kennecott did to cover up the tailings dam threat, go to the Lake Superior Mining News‘ coverage of the scandal:  Kennecott Hides Potential for Deadly Tailings Disaster

Marquette, MI – Kennecott Mineral’s Eagle Mine application is incompetent, at best, and fraudulent, at worst.  That according to mining expert Jack Parker.

In a new thirty-three page report, entitled KEMC Eagle Project:  A Fraudulent Permit Application?, Parker outlines  several, but not all, of the major problems with the underground portion of the company’s mine application.  In part, according to Parker, the project, (formally approved by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) in 2007 following delays associated with the suppression of documents critical of the mine’s design), was designed using “doctored” data, a “misinterpretation” of surficial geology and rock stress, and lacked reference to applicable mine case histories and a “sound mining analysis to prevent the mine from collapsing.”

Click the following link for Jack Parker’s report. . .“KEMC Eagle Project: A Fraudulent Permit Application?”

“After three years of studying the application and related documents my original opinion has not changed, but I would add a conclusion that either the writers and all of the reviewers were not experienced and competent in mining and geology, or that their intent was to deceive, to ensure that permits would be issued without delay. Maybe both.”

Describing himself as “for” mining, Parker began working in the British coal mines in 1946, leaving in 1954 to work on a new copper and nickel mine on Hudson’s Bay, in Canada.  Since obtaining degrees in geology, mining and geological engineering from Michigan Technological University, Parker has taught mining courses, produced numerous technical and popular mining publications, and worked for ten years at the White Pine copper mine, spending seven of those years directing the mine’s practical rock mechanics program.  Since 1974 Parker has worked as a well-respected independent mine consultant, on hundreds of projects in the United States and abroad.

Parker urges what he calls “responsible” mining and considers Kennecott’s plans to leave much of the metal at Eagle in the ground even if the mine becomes operational to be an “irresponsible recovery of the resource.”

“I think that the Eagle Project has a wonderful ore body and it, and all neighboring prospects, should be mined, but mined responsibly,” said Parker.

While the Eagle Mine is embroiled in controversy and has been “deferred” by Kennecott’s parent company, Rio Tinto, the project, if it became operational, would produce primarily nickel and copper, along with undisclosed amounts of precious metals.  Opponents fear that the mine could produce “acid mine drainage,” a phenomenon common at most operations where metals are present in the form of sulfide minerals.  If exposed to air and water, some sulfides create sulfuric acid, and cause problems for water quality, fish, and public health.

In September 2008, Norway said acid mine drainage is “considered one of the most serious mining-related environmental problems across the world.”  Previously one of Rio Tinto’s largest shareholders, Norway divested $890 million from the company last year, calling operation of Rio Tinto’s Grasberg Mine, in West Papua, “grossly unethical.”

Kennecott has not received any final permits through the State of Michigan for the Eagle Project.  The US Environmental Protection Agency has yet to make a proposed decision on whether or not to approve requests to inject over 180 million gallons of treated wastewater a year into underlying aquifers.

London, England – A beleaguered Rio Tinto board defended itself from criticisms coming from a number of shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) Wednesday, in London, England. High on shareholder’s minds was the proposed $19.5 billion deal to sell access to a number of key company assets, including Kennecott, to the Chinese government-owned Chinalco as part of what many speakers described as offensive to existing shareholders and a direct result of poor investment and management decisions made by the company over the last several years.

A triumphant exit from the Rio Tinto meeting; from left Andrew Hickman, Richard Solly, Reverend Jon Magnuson and Andrew Whitmore

At the meeting, Lutheran pastor, Jon Magnuson, from Marquette, Michigan, presented a document signed by one hundred faith leaders of ten faith traditions in Marquette, Baraga and Keweenaw counties. Magnuson said that the document was part of a petition that collected roughly ten thousand citizen’s names in opposition to Rio Tinto’s Eagle Project nickel and copper mine, located on the Yellow Dog Plains, in Marquette County.

Reverend Jon Magnuson strategizing at a local pub

“Many of our parishioners and members of our faith communities are . . . involved in the mining industry,” said Magnuson. “But on this particular project we have taken a very strong position – in this place, at this time, for these specific reasons. And one is the massive environmental damage that is threatened to the Great Lakes and the second and most prominent concern is that, what we perceive and experience is a cavalier dismissal of the claims of one of the major Indian tribes in Michigan, the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community.”

In response, company CEO Tom Albanese said that Rio Tinto is “not unmindful of the questions and the controversy” and claimed that Rio Tinto Copper CEO Bret Clayton “visited the site and met with a number of the stakeholders as a result of requests of some of the questions that came up in last year’s AGM.”

While Clayton did visit with a number of parties sympathetic to the mine’s development, including the local Chamber of Commerce and various local politicians yet made no attempt to meet with Michigan citizens and tribal representatives while in the area.

Gabriel Caplett, from Skandia, Michigan, spoke to a lack of competence and care in designing the Eagle Project mine.

“I’m just wondering if other shareholders are curious as to why this project hasn’t been brought on line yet and I think there’s a very simple reason for that and it lies within the mine design itself,” said Caplett. “The mine as designed could be charged with fraud under Michigan’s metallic mining law. The mine, as designed, would collapse – the crown pillar holding up the mine ceiling would collapse. Many technical experts have agreed on that.”

Caplett explained that Dr. David Sainsbury, a rock mechanics expert hired by the State of Michigan to review the mine’s mine structure inquired with Rio Tinto if anyone at the company had rock mechanic’s expertise. “He didn’t receive a response,” said Caplett. Sainsbury, who was transferred to work overseas after continually reporting to the State that the company’s conclusions regarding the crown pillar’s stability were “not defensible,” told a mine engineering colleague that the Eagle application, produced by Golder & Associates and Foth & VanDyke, was equivalent to “high school level” work.

Caplett asked the Rio Tinto board if, “after deferring the Eagle Project mine are you willing to waste any more shareholder money on this project or will you ultimately abandon it instead of pursuing this project.”

Two shareholders addressed concerns regarding Rio Tinto’s continued involvement in the controversial Grasberg Mine, in West Papua. According to shareholder Andrew Hickman, last year the government of Norway divested roughly $800 million in shares, calling the company’s record in West Papua “grossly unethical”. Hickman said that mine officials have acknowledged to paying the Indonesian military “less than” $1.6 million to guard the facility and repress local opposition to the mine.

Other shareholders addressed the recently acknowledged leakage of roughly one-hundred thousand liters of contaminated tailings water at Rio Tinto’s Ranger uranium mine, in Australia; as well as concerns regarding the company’s joint venture arrangement with Muriel Mining Co. in Colombia that has forced the relocation of an indigenous community and occupied a sacred mountain.

Richard Solly, organizer for Rio Tinto and Anglo American AGMs and member of the London Mining Network and Colombia Solidarity Campaign

The Reverend Magnuson and Caplett have also met with representatives at the Church of England’s Pension Board and Ethical Investment Advisory Group and will be meeting with the United Kingdom’s Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Review on Friday.

For some decent coverage of the meeting from elsewhere, click below. . .

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/apr/15/rio-tinto-agm-anger

http://business.smh.com.au/business/shareholders-have-a-dig-at-board-20090415-a7iy.html

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25344622-664,00.html

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/587377b8-2982-11de-9e56-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1

London, UK  -  Four citizens from  Michigan’s Upper Peninsula attended Rio Tinto’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Center (QEII), in London, England.  Speakers included Susan LaFernier, vice-president of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC), Gabriel Caplett from Yellow Dog Summer and Northwoods Wilderness Recovery, and Cynthia Pryor, from the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve.  Fran Whitman, from Friends of the Land of Keweenaw (FOLK), attended but was unable to speak in front of the assembly.

To the crowd of roughly 300 shareholders and journalists, LaFernier addressed the threat to Native American ceded treaty rights with the US government, from 1842 and 1954 treaties.  Rio Tinto chairman, Paul Skinner, interrupted LaFernier’s introduction, instructing the tribal leader to ask only one question, although a shareholder had just previously been able to ask three questions.

LaFernier stated, “I think these questions are very pertinent for you to hear and to answer.  How will you protect and guarantee our treaty rights with the United States to hunt, fish, and gather on this land.  How will you protect our great Lake Superior, where the rivers flow, and how will you protect….Eagle Rock, which is a place where traditional ceremonies take place?  And which will be blasted through ….we will be denied access for 34 years.”

LaFernier requested that Rio Tinto “consider that Kennecott withdraw any plans to mine in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan because of the many reasons that could be stated here today,” asking “will our rights be violated, our territorial sovereignty be jeopardized, but also, our survival as a people.”

LaFernier maintained, “It is our ancestor’s vision that our determination will continue to be honoured and I pray that you, too, will protect our Great Lakes and our Mother Earth.”

Gabriel Caplett addressed inaccuracies in Rio Tinto’s March, 2008, “Review,” in which Kennecott Eagle project manager, Jon Cherry, claimed that, in Wisconsin, the company “received a Certificate of Completion [COC], which means that we’ve fulfilled all our obligations” at the Flambeau Mine.

Caplett corrected the “Review”, maintaining “the company has not received a Certificate of Completion for the actual mine site, which is 32 acres” and questioned “why the project manager continues lying to our community and why the project manager, in this “Review”, has lied to the company’s own shareholders.”

Caplett also disagreed with Rio Tinto CEO, Tom Albanese’s assertion that Michigan has the “strongest nonferrous mining laws in the world”:  “I would counter your statement that we have the most stringent laws in the world.  Our neighbour, Wisconsin, has laws that are much more stringent; that have, up to now, kept your company out of operation, in that state, for a decade.”

Caplett also addressed Kennecott and Rio Tinto’s 20-year cover-up of the potential for a major tailings disaster, outside of Magna, Utah:  “In 1992, Rio Tinto conducted an assessment….tallying the legal value of people’s lives that would be affected by the potential spill and Rio Tinto decided against fully containing this impoundment and, rather, to proceed with business as usual.”  Caplett opposed Albanese’s re-election, as CEO, based upon his association with the tailings cover-up.

Cynthia Pryor addressed Kennecott’s actions that led to a damaged road crossing releasing 98 tons of sediment into the Salmon Trout River.  Pryor also expressed dissatisfaction over “private” Kennecott meetings and a lack of landowner representation at community meetings.

Pryor suggested that “our State is being held hostage by Kennecott lawyers,” referring to Kennecott threats to sue the State for a “takings” if its project were not approved.

Based upon the incompetence and secretiveness of Eagle Project manager, Jon Cherry, Pryor recommended that CEO Albanese hold a public meeting, in the Upper Peninsula, to “clear issues.”

Shareholder Fran Whitman was unable to access an official card enabling her to speak at the AGM.

Benny Wenda, independence leader from West Papua, and founder of the Free West Papua Campaign, also spoke, raising concerns over the continued Indonesia occupation of West Papua and military control over freedom of speech.  Wenda was “arrested, tortured and threatened with death” for peacefully protesting the Rio Tinto/Freeport McMoRan Grasberg gold and copper mine.

Wenda escaped from prison and resides, as an exile, in the UK.  Wenda played West Papuan music, prior to the AGM, at a London Mining Network-sponsored picket, outside of the QEII.  Others displayed a banner saying “Rio Tinto:  Stop Breaking Promises to Communities” and distributed flyers outlining six projects where the company is currently breaking stated and published promises.

The majority of comments regarded opposition to various projects where Rio Tinto has disregarded public and indigenous land and committed human rights violations.  In addition to Wenda, three shareholders raised questions regarding Rio Tinto’s actions in West Papua.  Shareholders also expressed opposition to Rio Tinto projects in Mendoza Province, Argentina, Alaska, and Madagascar.

Following the AGM, Caplett presented CEO Albanese a book on the Flambeau Mine, “The Buzzards Have Landed,” and recommended the CEO question project manager Cherry on his false assertions in the company’s March “Review.”  Caplett also discussed Kennecott Copper’s tailings impoundment with the CEO.

LaFernier, Whitman, and Pryor met with Bret Clayton, Rio Tinto Copper CEO, who agreed to hold a public meeting with the mine opposition.  Pryor maintained that there was not an “opposition,” rather local citizens.

A meeting was held, the same evening, at Amnesty International headquarters, featuring presentations on Rio Tinto and Anglo-American projects in the US, South Africa, West Papua and Argentina.  Anglo-American held its AGM April 15, also in London.  Company representative, Edward Bickham, was present and spoke at the meeting.

The morning of April 17, South African police, at Anglo-American’s behest, attacked and tear-gassed citizens peacefully protesting the company’s platinum operation in Limpopo Province.  In 2006, a police and Anglo-American attack resulted in one woman being shot in the face.  After several months, medical surgery was paid for by the company.

Tailings coverup/Uranium spills/Controversial Utah exploration/Salmon-Trout erosion/Aboriginal artifacts/New China partnership….

Kennecott under investigation for tailings cover-up

Kennecott is currently under investigation for covering-up, since 1988, the potential for a major earthquake-caused tailings disaster at the company’s tailings impoundment, in Magna, Utah.  The impoundment holds roughly 1 billion tons of fine mine wastes.

Utah’s Dam Safety Inspector is siding with the company, although legislators, officials and the public are calling for an independent investigation, saying the company’s current data cannot be trusted.

The cover-up implicates the Utah State Engineer’s office and Kennecott officials, from 1988 up to the present.

For more information read NWR’s original article on the cover-up:  http://www.northwoodswild.org/component/content/article/57-sulfide-and-uranium-mining-news/119-kennecott-hides-potential-for-deadly-tailings-disaster

Or visit the Salt Lake Tribune:  http://www.sltrib.com/

Cameco criticized, in Wyoming, for “routine” uranium spills

Cameco Corporation has recently been criticized by the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ) for its Smith-Highland Ranch uranium operations, north of Douglas.  The in-situ mine is operated by Power Resources Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cameco.

The six-page investigation details several “long-standing” environmental violations, such as delays in restoring contaminated groundwater, “routine” spills and the existence of a bond grossly inadequate to cover full site restoration.

Company spokesperson, Gord Struthers claims the issues are related to poor company documentation and insists that Cameco is committed to the environment.  According to Struthers, “It’s real hard to trumpet our values in this situation, but I think that over the years it’s pretty clear the company has been a solid performer. The environment is one of our top priorities.”

Kennecott attempting to explore for metals in newly-created public open-space

The Salt Lake Tribune is reporting that Kennecott Minerals is attempting to explore for minerals within a newly-created public open space, in Salt Lake County, Utah.

Salt Lake County officials spent $8.7 million for the 1,700 acre Rose Canyon Ranch, in the Oquirrh Mountains, in November, 2007.  The purchase was made as part of a $48 million bond approved by voters for park and open-space development.  The parcel, combined with the adjacent Yellow Fork Park, also owned by the County, and a BLM parcel creates a 4,000 acre preserved public open space.

Within one week of the purchase, Kennecott filed 70 mining claims with the BLM.

Although Salt Lake County now owns Rose Canyon Ranch, the BLM can grant Kennecott exploration access without the County’s consent.

Although Kennecott is currently being investigated for a 20-year cover-up of its Magna tailings facility, company representative, Erik Best, assured the Salt Lake County Council that “Kennecott has high environmental standards.”

Kennecott activities continue to cause sediment erosion into trout spawning habitat

A Sunday, April 6, trip to the Yellow Dog Plains ended shortly after the junction with the Triple A and Northwestern Road.  The Spring melt, combined with Kennecott’s heavy truck traffic, has caused major road ruts and runoff, particularly at stream crossings.

One local camp owner recently contacted the DEQ about erosion occurring at the Northwestern crossing of a Salmon Trout River tributary, citing disruptions to trout spawning habitat.

Following the complaint, DEQ staff placed straw bales at the crossing and sent Kennecott a letter.

In Spring, 2005, a Salmon Trout River crossing washed out due to Kennecott’s activities, releasing 90 tons of sediment into the small river.

35,000 year-old Aboriginal artifacts located at Rio Tinto iron mine

Archaeologists in Australia have discovered ancient Aboriginal tools in the Pilbara region, in Western Australia.  The artifacts, radiocarbon-dated to be at least 35,000 years old were found on the Hope Downs iron mine site, which is jointly-owned and operated by Rio Tinto and Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting.

The find represents one of the oldest prehistoric sites in Australia and will likely be considered an internationally-significant “prehistoric record of humanity.”

The local Martidja Banyjima people hired archeaologist Dr. Neale Draper, managing director of Australian Cultural Heritage Management Ltd., to investigate the site.

According to Draper, “We are thrilled at the test results. This is a major scientific discovery. It contains a large number of stone tools and it is one of the most data-rich ancient sites in Australia, with an exceptional amount of information about climate change through the last ice age, the earliest occupation of the Pilbara and North-West Australia.”

Archaeologists hired by the Aboriginal traditional owners have released the results of radiocarbon tests indicating that it is one of the oldest-dated sites in Australia and internationally significant as a prehistoric record of humanity.

Most of the tools, which appear to have been used for cutting, contain traces of organic matter that archaeologists believe will provide evidence of prehistoric food supplies and climate change.

Rio Tinto committed to China despite egregious environmental and human rights record

Rio Tinto is expressing an increased interest in working with Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in order to have great access to capital, engineering and technology for mine projects in Asia, Africa and South America.  SOEs would include Chinese government-owned steel companies and investment institutions.

According to CEO, Tom Albanese, Rio Tinto wants to become the “partner of choice” for Chinese companies by forming “opportunities for cooperative relationships with senior Chinese SOEs on large-scale development” in “very remote locations that require a lot of infrastructure.”

Rio Tinto chairman, Paul Skinner, predicts that a US recession will not impact Rio Tinto’s output, due to strong economic growth in China and India:  “The U.S. is now somewhat less important in world commodity demand than it was five years ago.”  According to Skinner, “Projections for Rio Tinto’s main product groups, iron ore, aluminum and copper, suggest that demand could potentially triple over the next 25 years.”

Albanese asserted that, despite China’s egregious record on human rights and environmental degradation, Rio Tinto remains committed to working with the communist nation as a mineral supplier and joint-venture partner.  Citing recent government crackdowns on protests in Tibet, Albanese stated, “I think it’s fair to say that every country has legacies that have to be confronted….It’s important not to isolate a country because it still has those legacies to resolve.”

Rio Tinto, itself, has been accused of human rights violations in Namibia, Chile, West Papua New Guinea, among other places.  It is currently involved in a US District Court lawsuit concerning its role assisting the Indonesian military in killing and torturing citizens near is Grasberg Mine.

Magna, Utah  -  The Salt Lake Tribune is reporting that Kennecott Utah Copper Corp. has concealed, since 1988, the potential for an earthquake-caused major tailings disaster in Magna, Utah.  The tailings impoundment is located north of Magna and stores an estimated 1 billion tons of fine mine wastes.  In 1992, the company conducted a “risk assessment” to determine if full containment of the impoundment would be more expensive than legal costs associated with property damage and citizen deaths.

The Tribune has published a 1997 confidential memo, written by Ray D. Gardner, former Chief Legal Officer for Kennecott, that is critical of the company’s handling of the potential tailings disaster:  “Prior management’s decisions to disregard and conceal legal advice, forego public notice, attempt to establish a residential buffer surreptitiously, collude with the State Engineer to withhold the KL studies from the public, and restrict the distribution of the Reduction Study, collectively and individually, give the appearance of a conspiracy to cover-up a profound threat to public safety.”

G. Frank Joklik was Kennecott’s president and CEO from 1980 to 1993.  Joklik, now a mining consultant, is currently on the board of directors for Prime Meridian Resources (PMR), a mining firm seeking to develop several metallic mineral deposits in the Upper Peninsula. Prior to the 2002 Olympic Games, a bribery scandal forced Joklik to resign from the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, which was responsible for attempting to secure the games for the city of Salt Lake.  PMR has another Kennecott connection – the company’s president Michael Senn, was a Kennecott geologist from 1980 to 1996 and was Regional Manager/Chief Geologist when Kennecott discovered the Eagle deposit, in 1995.

The tailings pond, which opened in 1906, has had two previous failures (1941 and 1964) that reportedly did not result in loss of life or significant property damage and was not caused by seismic activity.  The 1997 memo notes that scientific reports were commissioned on the tailings impoundment in 1957, 1966, 1974 and 1983.  The reports noted the ability of the tailings impoundment to fail due to seismic activity.  The area lies within the Intermountain Seismic Belt and an earthquake in the vicinity, in 1962, measured M 5.2 on the Richter Scale.

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in 2006, Kennecott’s Utah Copper Mine and Power Plant was the second highest polluting facility in the nation with 102.5 million pounds of pollutants.  The company’s Green’s Creek Mine, in Alaska (recently sold to Hecla Mining Corp.), ranked 7th, with 44.5 million pounds of pollutants.

In 1988, Joklik commissioned an additional geotechnical evaluation of the tailings dam from a Canadian engineering firm, Klohn-Leonoff Consultants Ltd. (KL), from British Columbia, Canada.  KL’s report showed that an earthquake could cause the dam to burst, flooding part of the town of Magna, resulting in a loss of life and property damage.  According to Gardner’s 1997 memo, the report noted the potential danger to “inhabited areas, industrial sites, a major railroad line, and public highways.”  An industry expert, H. Bolton Seed, assessed and validated the findings, saying that “the annual risk of failure for the tailings deposit is [100 times greater] than for conventional dams.”

Joklik responded to the report by unsuccessfully attempting to hide the results using the protection of attorney work product privilege and formed a task force to assess methods to stabilize the Magna Corner and other portions of the tailings impoundment.  A “Reduction Study,” commissioned from KL, in 1989, recommended the only solution was to construct an external berm around the entire tailings impoundment.  In response, Kennecott began dewatering the Magna Corner but abandoned “key elements of the seismic upgrade program” in 1993 due to economic costs associated with relocating 2.75 miles of State Route 201, the Magna Copper Golf Course, and all Kennecott and third party utilities in the area, and realigning and modifying the company’s process water facilities.

Gardner’s 1997 memo suggests that the “decision to abandon the berm, buffer and dike components of the seismic upgrade is not well documented and seems to have been motivated by economics, with no genuine concern for public safety.”

Joklik and Philip J. Bernhisel (Kennecott’s Senior Vice President of Finance and Law) also requested a legal review from the former General Counsel, Earl Tingey, who commissioned an investigation from Bob Connery, of Holland and Hart LLP, Denver.  However, according to the Gardner memo, Joklik controlled Connery’s review and limited Tingey’s role to one of simply conveying information from Connery to Joklik.  Connery recommended that Kennecott disclose the threat to residents.  Connery was fired and informed that Joklik did not “like” his advice and to forward any relevant documents to Kennecott and destroy all copies.  Connery disregarded the advice.

Joklik secured a second legal opinion, from Parsons, Behle and Latimer (PB&L), from Salt Lake City, which recommended that Kennecott disclose the threat to the public and make the tailings impoundment safe by relocating State Route 201 and creating a buffer zone around the impoundment.  The consultant advised Kennecott that the impoundment was “unreasonably dangerous” and that the company faced the potential for punitive and criminal charges if the company did not warn the public.  Kennecott’s General Counsel instructed PB&L that Joklik would “terminate PB&L’s representation if their opinion was rendered to him, and he instructed PB&L to destroy the opinion.”

Following its dewatering activities, Kennecott commissioned another “seismic hazard evaluation” study from Woodward and Clyde, in 1993, to reassess the potential for a tailings breach in the Magna Corner of the impoundment.  Woodward and Clyde’s assessment showed an even higher risk potential than KL’s study.

Gardner’s 1997 memo notes that “the possibility of stabilizing the Magna Corner exclusively through the dewatering effort appears to be a post-decision attempt to provide a supporting rationale, by identifying a viable method of protecting against the potentially devastating effects of a seismic failure.  Unfortunately, the dewatering option continues to be unproven.”

Kennecott officials met with the Utah State Engineer to discuss the original KL assessment.  According to minutes prepared by the company, the State Engineer approved of Kennecott’s full seismic upgrades and agreed with KL’s findings.  However, according to Gardner’s 1997 memo, “The minutes further indicate that the KL studies were shared with the State Engineer, but were not retained by the agency records because of concerns “that they would fall into the public domain.”  The State Engineer provided informal assurances that he had “no intention…of going public with the information.”  The project manager advises that the State Engineer has not retained copies of any of the geotechnical reports operated on behalf of Kennecott.”

Instead of pursuing a full seismic upgrade of the tailings impoundment, Joklik authorized Kennecott’s Land Department to secretly purchase 200 homes in Green Meadow Estates.  Officials in the department were not briefed on exact reasons for the purchasing.  From 1991 to 1992, the department purchased 39 homes, through a still-unidentified agent, which were subsequently leased.  The new tenants were never informed of the risks associated with a break in the tailings impoundment.  In 1995, Kennecott began pursuing options to sell the properties, without providing disclosure to buyers regarding tailings hazards.

Shockingly, in 1992, Kennecott’s parent company, Rio Tinto, conducted a “risk assessment” to determine the company’s potential liability in the event of a catastrophic dam break.  The company requested the Land Department to total the “approximate number of people involved…approximate spread of the population age (normal, young, aged) [sic]…approximate number of children and adults present at each school…approximate value placed on loss of life by Utah courts, with variation by age.”

Gardner’s 1997 memo concludes that “The lack of public notice is particularly puzzling.  Contrary to the unequivocal advice of two highly regarded law firms, Kennecott’s management did not provide the requisite warning because Mr. Joklik believed it would cause “panic and suits”…Kennecott has a legal and moral duty to disclose the risk and advise potentially affected persons of the company’s mitigation effort….The company decided human life was not worth the cost of completing the seismic upgrade in the manner most likely to yield an acceptable margin of safety.”

Despite Kennecott’s modification’s, over the past 20 years, the impoundment’s Magna Corner still fails to meet Utah’s minimum safety standard for a worst-case earthquake of M 7.2 on the Richter Scale.  Kennecott claims that final improvements will be finished in ten years.