Tamerlane Ventures, out of Washington State, has requested the Oneida County Mining Oversight and Local Impact Committee to consider allowing the company to begin exploring for metallic minerals within the Oneida County State Forest. Read the rest of this entry »
New Mining Exploration in Wisconsin?
May 21, 2009
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Grassroots Success Against Potentially Dangerous Mines in the US
June 25, 2008By Gabriel Caplett
As the Upper Peninsula battles against a metallic sulfide mining district, citizens have turned to neighboring Wisconsin as an example of successful grassroots opposition to unsustainable mining.
Ironically, Kennecott has also found inspiration in Wisconsin. The company has showcased its now-closed Flambeau Mine in attempts to demonstrate that it is capable of operating a successful sulfide mine in the UP.
Kennecott, and the industry as a whole, has learned its lesson in losing to grassroots mining opponents in Wisconsin and around the world. Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | civil disobedience, indigenous, Kennecott-Rio Tinto | Tagged: civil disobedience, human rights, ontario, Wisconsin | Permalink
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Sulfide Mining: Not a Done Deal
June 25, 2008Since first announcing plans for its nickel-copper Eagle Project mine, Kennecott Minerals – a subsidiary of London-based Rio Tinto – and the State of Michigan have tried to portray the mine as “a done deal.” At each step in the approval process, new information has been presented to the public, thus breaking up the full effects of Kennecott’s mining plans into smaller, presumably easier to digest, segments.
At the same time, science not conducive to an honest approval of Kennecott’s plans has been suppressed while public comment has been nearly entirely disregarded. The Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) Deputy Director, Skip Pruss, has gone so far as to refer to public comment as “chaff.”
Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) treaty rights with the US government have been equally disregarded, as well as KBIC’s concerns with blasting into and fencing-off Eagle Rock, a culturally sensitive and sacred rock outcropping on the Yellow Dog Plains.
State legislators and officials have assisted Kennecott by presenting approval of their mine as simply a legal and legislative process, disregarding the power of ordinary citizens to effectively stop development of an unpopular mining plan. Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | Canada, human rights, Kennecott-Rio Tinto, Law, Michigan, Wisconsin | Tagged: deq, human rights, Kennecott, Law, Michigan, Rio Tinto, west papua, Wisconsin | Permalink
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Foth & VanDyke Contracted by Aquila
April 2, 2007by 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 »
Leave a Comment » | Aquila, Eagle Mine, Kennecott-Rio Tinto, Wisconsin | Tagged: Aquila, Kennecott, Michigan, Rio Tinto, Wisconsin | Permalink
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Flambeau Update
April 2, 2007by Gabriel Caplett
Kennecott Mineral’s Flambeau Mining Company (FMC) recently applied for a Certificate of Completion (COC) for its reclamation activities at the Flambeau Mine site, in Rusk County, Wisconsin. The COC does not cover ground and surface water contamination and excludes from scrutiny the 32 acres that comprises the actual mine site.[1]
If the Wisconsin DNR grants Kennecott a COC, the company can reclaim 80% of its $11 million reclamation bond, based on the company’s claim that the site has been successfully reclaimed. The remaining 20% would be held for another 20 years, while a separate $1 million bond remains in place for years.[2] Kennecott notes that the bond was “never intended to address groundwater or surface water contamination that may exist now or in the future.”[3] Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | Kennecott-Rio Tinto, Law, water pollution, Wisconsin | Tagged: Flambeau, Kennecott, Law, Rio Tinto, water pollution, Wisconsin | Permalink
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Crandon Update
April 2, 2007by Gabriel Caplett
In 1998, the Wisconsin legislature passed the “Churchill” Moratorium bill. Act 171 requires a mining company, seeking a permit, to show an example of a metallic sulfide mine that has operated for 10 years without polluting surface or ground water from the mine or its tailings. It must also show a mine that has been closed for 10 years without polluting surface or ground water.
Mining giant BHP-Billiton, through its subsidiary Nicolet Minerals Co., attempted to bypass the moratorium. Located south of Crandon, the 55 million ton zinc, copper and lead deposit, first discovered by Exxon Minerals has been stalled by massive citizen opposition since 1976. The company cited the Sacaton Mine, in Casa Grande, Arizona, the Cullaton mine in the Nunavut Territory, Canada, and the McLaughlin mine in Lower Lake, California.[1]
By April, 2003, as the examples proved unable to pass scrutiny under Wisconsin law, BHP sold NMC and its surface and mineral rights for the project to Northern Wisconsin Resource Group, a subsidiary of Nicolet Hardwood Corp. Read the rest of this entry »
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Mines and Communities: Refusing to Play by Company Rules
February 7, 2007by Gabriel Caplett
On January 9, 2007, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) granted preliminary approval of Kennecott Mineral’s Eagle Mine permit. The potential metallic sulfide mine is on the Yellow Dog Plains, within a few miles of the shores of Lake Superior. This decision should not have come as a surprise to anyone. According to one member of the DEQ, “the DEQ [is] leaning toward approving the application regardless of any deficiencies.” This fact was already clear to anyone that has attended DEQ hearings/public forums on the issue. To be as polite as possible, the DEQ has found it difficult to mask their disregard for us Yoopers and citizens of Michigan.
Citizens rally in front of Michigan Capitol Building, December 2005; Photo courtesy Andy Gregg
1 Comment | civil disobedience, Eagle Mine, human rights, indigenous, Kennecott-Rio Tinto, Law, Michigan, uranium, Wisconsin | Tagged: civil disobedience, deq, dnr, Eagle Mine, economy, human rights, Kennecott, Law, Michigan, native american, public land, Rio Tinto, uranium, Wisconsin | Permalink
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