December 15, 2009
After addressing pollution concerns at the former Cliffs-Dow site, the Marquette City Commission took public comment on a proposed anti-ballot initiative resolution [read Marquette City Resolution Opposing Water Mining Ballot Initiative]. The “MiWater” ballot initiative would place greater restrictions on metallic sulfide and uranium mining activities in Michigan. Despite offering unanimous support for the resolution, commissioners presented a fairly diverse argument in their opposition to the MiWater ballot initiative. The majority of citizens providing public comment outlined various arguments in support of the ballot effort.
New commissioner David Saint-Onge questioned why the City was considering the resolution.
“As a new guy on the commission, I’m not so sure why this issue comes before us, to be honest with you, why we’re taking the amount of time that we’ve taken to address this issue – not that it’s not important,” said Saint-Onge. “I do believe that there are some portions of the resolution that’s being offered this evening that are unnecessarily inflammatory.” Read the rest of this entry »
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Eagle Mine, Kennecott-Rio Tinto, Law, Michigan, economy, lake superior, uranium, water, water pollution, workers | Tagged: cameco, deq, Eagle Mine, economy, humboldt, Kennecott, politicians, pollution, Rio Tinto, uranium, water, water pollution, workers, yellow dog plains | 
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Posted by LSMN
November 16, 2009
"These colors don't run!," says a Borax miners' union website; Photo courtesy I.L.W.U Local 30
Regardless of whether it’s true or not, Rio Tinto always seems to know what to say.
Rio Tinto boasts to the public, gullible politicians and job hopefuls in Michigan that the company is doing well financially, in order to lend the impression that the company’s Eagle Mine, in the Huron Mountains of the Upper Peninsula, is an inevitability.
In Boron, California, home of Rio Tinto’s vast US Borax operations, workers are being sold an entirely different tale. To the nearly 600 workers at Local 30 of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, AFL-CIO, fighting for respect and decent working conditions at California’s largest open pit mine, company brass is claiming they are in hard times. While overseas investors are courted and assured that billions more than expected will be available for new project development in 2010 and southern California business leaders are informed that “the financial position of the company is very strong,” workers in Boron are told there is a need for cutbacks. It’s all part of a broader effort to break I.L.W.U. Local 30 and force workers to sign a weak contract. Read the rest of this entry »
5 Comments | Kennecott-Rio Tinto, economy, workers | Tagged: economy, Kennecott, politicians, Rio Tinto, workers | Permalink
Posted by LSMN
March 6, 2009
by Gabriel Caplett
Humboldt, Michigan – While a blizzard raged in the eastern part of the county, about 100 citizens attended a Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) hearing on a mining application for Kennecott-Rio Tinto’s proposed Humboldt Mill project. Comments were starkly divided between those citing perceived job creation as motivation for their support of the project and those concerned about the proposed Eagle Project and potential for water pollution and fugitive dust problems at the site. Read the rest of this entry »
1 Comment | Eagle Mine, Kennecott-Rio Tinto | Tagged: deq, Eagle Mine, humboldt, Kennecott, Michigan, politicians, Rio Tinto | Permalink
Posted by LSMN
December 31, 2008
By Gabriel Caplett
Marquette County, MI – The Marquette County Board of Commissioners and numerous board members (and the CEO) at the Lake Superior Community Partnership (LSCP) have become, over the years, Kennecott-Rio Tinto’s most vocal supporters for its proposed Eagle Project mine. At the company’s urging, the county passes resolutions of support and encourages local townships to do the same. The county assists the company in lobbying the State of Michigan and the federal government to support and permit the project and meets with the Eagle Project Manager to decide what the company can buy for Marquette County in order to ensure continued and vocal support. Read the rest of this entry »
1 Comment | Eagle Mine, Kennecott-Rio Tinto, Michigan | Tagged: Eagle Mine, Kennecott, Michigan, politicians, Rio Tinto | Permalink
Posted by LSMN
April 2, 2007
by Gabriel Caplett
On March 1, 2007, the Michigan DEQ (MDEQ) withdrew its proposed approval of Kennecott Eagle Minerals Co.’s permit application.[1] The decision was made following the exposure of the DEQ’s failure to publicly disclose a crucial report regarding the crown pillar subsidence and hydrologic stability of Kennecott’s Eagle Project.
DEQ Hears Public Comment, Lansing, December 2005; Photo courtesy Doug Cornett
The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) had submitted Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to the DEQ, attempting to retrieve a report regarding crown pillar subsidence and the hydrologic stability of the Eagle Project. NWF lawyer, Michelle Halley, stated that the DEQ initially ignored the requests then submitted only partial information before finally releasing the report.
In a phone interview, Steven Wilson, in the DEQ’s Office of Geological Survey, noted that, at the agency, “many reports get lost or shredded.”[2] Read the rest of this entry »
1 Comment | Eagle Mine, Health, Kennecott-Rio Tinto, Law, Michigan, water pollution | Tagged: deq, Dow Chemical, Eagle Mine, Law, Michigan, politicians, pollution, water pollution | Permalink
Posted by LSMN
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