Marquette: Celebrate the UP Event March 28

Celebrate the U.P.!

Join the Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition in a FREE celebration of what’s great about the U.P. on
Saturday, March 28th, 2009

at the three corners where Ridge and Front Sts. intersect in downtown Marquette, MI.

Here’s what we have on tap:

At The Peter White Public Library – Community Room:

10:15-11:15 “An Author’s Journey to Advocacy: A Memorable Hike Leads to a Regional Vision” with hiker and author Eric Hansen. His presentation will include a slide show tour of the U.P.’s best hikes.

11:30-12:30 “The Beaver Basin Wilderness Designation at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore” with park superintendent, Jim Northrup

1:30-2:45 The Marquette premier film showing of “Fortunate Wilderness: The Wolf and Moose Study of Isle Royale” with documentary filmmaker, George Desort

At The Landmark Inn – Sky Room:

10:00-11:00 “From Here to a Beach that’s Almost in Paradise” with photographer, birder, Scot Stewart

11:30-12:30 “Defined by Water” with kayaker Sam Crowley

1:30-2:30 “North Country Trail in the Central U.P.” and “Exploring the Wild and Spectacular Trap Hills of Ontonagon” with North Country Trail Association hikers Marge Forslin. Lorana Jinkerson and Doug Welker

At the Landmark Inn – Board Room

10:00-11:00 “Historian Looks at the U.P.” with NMU history prof, Russell Magnaghi

11:30-12:30 “Native American Presence, Spiritual Overview” with Hannahville Indian Community spiritual leaders, Earl and Aiesha Meshigaud

1:30-2:20 “Trails – A Community Asset and Portal to our Wilderness” with Noquemanon Trail Network worker, Michael Sauer

At the Federated Women’s Clubhouse

10:00-11:00 “Why It Matters – Landscaping with Native Plants” with botanist Jan Schultz

11:30-12:30 “U.P. History from a Weatherman’s Perspective” with WLUC-TV6 meteorologist, Karl Bohnak

1:30-2:30 “Wilderness Palette: Nita Engle’s Vision of the U.P.” with renowned watercolorist, Nita Engle

These sessions will be followed that afternoon by a panel discussion – “Prioritizing the U.P. Landsccape” – from 3-4:45 p.m. at the Peter White Library with environmental historian and author, Dave Dempsey; Nature Conservancy Conservation Program Director, Christine (Tina) Hall; Pictured Rocks Park Superintendent, Jim Northrup; Sierra Club Forest Ecologist, Marvin Roberson; and US Forest Service botanist, Jan Schultz.

Then be sure to join us from 5-7p.m. at the Federated Women’s Clubhouse for a reception and tribute to wildlife biologist and UPEC founding member, Bill Robinson. Drinks and refreshments will be provided.

Send Kennecott Humboldt Mill Comments to the DEQ

Kennecott is proposing to operate a metallic sulfide mine in one of Michigan’s last wild areas, the Yellow Dog Plains, and recently submitted an application to re-open a milling facility in Humboldt Township, Michigan for processing of ore from the mine site. If approved, Kennecott’s proposed milling facility operations could result in environmental degradation and human health hazards. The DEQ is accepting written comments until 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 18, 2009.

Click here to start the online comment process

February 10: Sulfide Mining Educational Forum To Be Held

Representatives from local organizations will hold an educational forum on Kennecott Mineral’s recent permit application to re-open the old Humboldt Ore Processing Facility in Humboldt Township near Republic, MI.  Contributing organizations include: National Wildlife Federation, Save the Wild UP, Northwoods Wilderness Recovery, Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve, and Students Against Sulfide Mining.

Concerned citizens are encouraged to attend this informational session for learning how to comment most effectively at the DEQ hearing and to clarify questions about Kennecott’s permit.

When: Tuesday, February 10, 2009; 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm followed by a screening of the National Wildlife Federation documentary, “Mining Madness, Water Wars: The Great Lakes in the Balance
Where: Charcoal Room, Northern Michigan University Center

For more information, call Save the Wild UP at 906-228-4444

“Mining Madness, Water Wars” Documentary Showing January 22

Save the Wild UP will host a showing of the compelling documentary, “Mining Madness, Water Wars: The Great Lakes in the Balance” on Thursday evening, January 22 at Peter White Public Library.

Produced by the National Wildlife Federation, this 33 minute production lays bare the controversial proposal to blast a mine beneath a blue ribbon trout stream in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

A social gathering with refreshments will begin at 6:00 pm in the Community Room followed by a brief update on the sulfide mining issue at 6:30. The documentary showing will begin at 7:00. A question and answer session will follow. For more information, call Save the Wild UP at 228-4444

Watershed Wildlife Workshop

January 19, 2009 at 6pm: The Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve will be hosting a Watershed Wildlife Workshop at the Peter White Public Library in the Community Room. A wildlife biologist will present information on species of concern in the Yellow Dog River and surrounding watersheds, such as moose, wolf, and cougar. This event is free but donations are accepted at the door. For more information, call 906-345-9223.

Event: Mining Heritage: Past, Present and Future

When: Saturday, Jan. 17, 2009, 10:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m Central Time, 11:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Where: Patrick J. White Conference Room, West Iron District Library; 116 West Genessee; Iron River, MI 49915 (One block South of U.S.2, midtown); (906)265-2831
Contact person: Robert Rivera (906)265-3176

Concerned citizens of Iron County, with assistance from the Northwood Alliance, will hold a public forum, “Mining Heritage: Past, Present and Future”, on January 17, from 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the West Iron District Library in Iron River, MI. A morning session, beginning at 10:30 and ending at noon, will examine the history of mining in Iron County. Two afternoon sessions, beginning at 1:00, will examine remediation efforts at the Dober and Buck mine sites on the Iron River and the prospects of new mining development and its future effects. The sessions will feature a short film by the National Wildlife Federation about the Eagle Rock project on the Yellow Dog Plains near Marquette, and local experts and citizens will report on various aspects of mining. Numerous governmental and corporate spokespersons have been invited to participate, as have representatives of regional groups opposed to new mining development. There will be musical interludes in late morning and mid-afternoon, as well as question-and-answer sessions following the afternoon presentations.

Iron County, Michigan, is part of a mining district extending across the Upper Peninsula, Northern Wisconsin and Northern Minnesota. Both the Iron and Mesaba Ranges have experienced intensive mining, deeply imprinting local culture and significantly affecting the environment. Most mining activity ceased forty or more years ago, but the heritage persists. Now, new mining exploration and development, including uranium exploration, are arising throughout the region. This movement, and techniques such as sulfide extraction, may bring to the area threats historically unseen with traditional methods of copper and iron ore mining. The allure of economic development has been confronted by those concerned with potential environmental damage and future economic costs from short-term gains.

For more information on this event, contact Robert Rivera at (906) 265-3176.

Aquila Representative Faces Criticism at Public Meeting

by Gabriel Caplett

December 15, 2008

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’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.

“I think all of us are biased”, responded Trippel. “I think all of us have a perspective and bias that may have to do with…who we work for.” Trippel insisted, “The work that I do is unbiased.”

According to Trippel, the presentation was intended to introduce local residents to the basics of acid rock drainage and how it can be prevented from occurring in a mining operation. Trippel listed both mining projects that have generated significant acid runoff as well as mines that he considers to have operated without significant acid drainage problems. “Mining’s legacy is both good and bad,” said Trippel. “There’s very definitely bad mining legacy from historic mining operations and, in some cases, from current ones.”

Trippel explained that acid drainage only occurs when three substances come into contact: sulfides, water and air. Removing one or more of these ingredients precludes the possibility for acid generation. According to Trippel, a mining operation can avoid acid mine drainage problems by preventing sulfide ore from contacting groundwater and surface water through the use of liner systems and water treatment facilities. If the problem cannot be contained, a company can “minimize the amount of acid rock drainage that would be created,” “minimize its potential to seep into the ground” or clean up the mess “if the designs intended to avoid and minimize the impact weren’t good.”

In response, one local resident commented that Trippel brought up “some pretty big ‘ifs’.”

Acid rock drainage commonly occurs at mining operations that encounter certain sulfide deposits, primarily those containing iron pyrite which, when it contacts air and water, forms sulfate. Recently, the government of Norway, one of mining giant Rio Tinto’s largest shareholders, divested its $890 million stake in the company, citing major concerns regarding extensive acid mine drainage at the company’s Grasberg Mine, in West Papua. In explaining its controversial move, Norway’s Council on Ethic’s referred to acid mine drainage as “one of the most serious mining-related environmental problems across the world.”

Trippel introduced Kennecott-Rio Tinto’s Flambeau Mine, in Rusk County Wisconsin, as an example of a successful metallic sulfide mine that has not created acid drainage. According to company documents, elevated levels of iron, manganese and copper in groundwater flowing into the Flambeau River are expected to occur, above baseline levels, for at least another 4,000 years. Levels of sulfates are expected to continue for over 3,000 years.

Bertossi took issue with hailing Flambeau as a successful operation. Kennecott-Rio Tinto and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources data “show that there is acid rock drainage as well as high copper levels and high manganese levels,” said Bertossi. “But it’s under the mine site and, based on the statute in Wisconsin, they can pollute groundwater beneath the mine to any limit.”

Lake Township supervisor, Bob Desjarlais, commented that the majority of Trippel’s list of “good” mines began operations in the 1800s when there was very little enforcement of mining operations. “These mines must have been rather low in sulfides that if you consider them to be fairly good mines that they could be open in the 1880s and 1927, I mean long before EPA regulations came out on acid rock drainage,” said Desjarlais. “So, how can we say these are significant mines without significant acid rock drainage when they probably didn’t have any to begin with.”

Trippel maintained that the intent of his presentation was not to compare his listed mines that he considered successful with either the Kennecott-Rio Tinto’s Eagle Project or the Back Forty project.

Trippel also introduced the White Pine Mine as an example of a deposit containing high sulfides that was mined without creating reported acid mine drainage. However, according to sources familiar with operations at White Pine, acid mine drainage was never expected to occur at the facility because the ore was located in a copper sulfide deposit and was surrounded by natural calcium-containing buffering agents. Orvana Minerals Vice President of Corporate Development, Bill Williams, recently told the Marquette Mining Journal that ore found within the White Pine deposit is classified, under Michigan law, as “nonreactive.” According to Williams, Orvana has found “no obvious indications” that the deposit contains iron pyrite, which could cause acid drainage.

Aquila’s Back Forty Project consists of a “massive sulfide” gold-zinc deposit near the Menominee River, outside of Stephenson, Michigan. The ore body extends under the river, which is shared with neighboring Wisconsin, possibly introducing purview under that state’s metallic mining requirements, which are more stringent than Michigan’s.

The company plans to use a cyanide leaching process to extract gold from the deposit.

Aquila’s stock is currently worth less than one US dime, per share [as of this writing], and the company is looking to form a joint-venture partnership with a larger mining firm in order to extract and process the ore. According to Aquila President, CEO and Director Tom Quigley, the company will be “looking at a variety of partnerships” if Aquila lacks access to sufficient capital. The company projects a total cost of between 120 and 140 million dollars needed to open the mine.

Quigley said that Aquila has solicited a resource assessment from Toronto-based SRK Consultants and will announce the results by early January. Aquila has been pursuing a preliminary economic assessment and expects Trippel’s baseline environmental studies to be finalized in time for the company to submit a mining application by late 2009. Aquila has also been relocating its drill cores from a field office, in Daggett, to a new building south of Carney.

According to Quigley, the economic downturn is “something that could potentially impact our progress and development” and Aquila may have to layoff staff and postpone some “development activities.” According to some local citizens, the company has already layed-off its lead geologist.

Students Against Sulfide Mining 2009 Calendar Now Available

Pick up your 2009 edition of the Students Against Sulfide Mining Outdoor Adventure Calendars.

Available at the Save The Wild UP office (413 Third Street, Mqt.). These collector’s items feature nature-loving student activists set against stunning UP landscapes, all at one low price of $15.

Folks can also purchase calendars by mailing a check or cash to: SASM, Box 44 University Center, Marquette, MI 49855. Make sure to include $2 for shipping and your correct delivery address.

Sulfide Mining Documentary YouTube Clips and DVD Ordering

Mining Madness, Water Wars: The Great Lakes in the Balance
A Documentary Film on Sulfide Mining

“Mining Madness, Water Wars: The Great Lakes in the Balance” is a timely, compelling documentary that lays bare a controversial proposal to blast a mine beneath a blue ribbon trout stream in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

The 33-minute story is told through the passionate voices of scientists, community activists, tribal officials, and others who care about protecting our most precious asset water. Watch a short excerpt that focuses on one aspect of the controversy — the apparent disregard for Native American treaty rights.

Despite extensive scientific testimony that the project’s flaws could place workers in peril and jeopardize a Lake Superior tributary and its watershed, citizens and environmental organizations have found the state’s leadership unresponsive and now look to the justice system for resolution.

“Mining Madness, Water Wars: The Great Lakes in the Balance” was underwritten by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and produced by Brauer Productions, Inc. and Summit Public Relations Strategies, LLC.

Below are clips from the movie:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwFT1cuRyrY[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t-TrOCibjk[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b3efzkGmZk[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gheTH8ktXb4[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa2n3IfYsi8[/youtube]