An update of current events and anticipated timelines 1. The DNR has asked Kennecott to donate 120 acres to the State of
Tag Archives: Science
The shadow of a mine: a metallic sulfide mining photo gallery
Take a moment to view this slideshow of photos of the devastation wrought by the largest nickel mine in the world upon a landscape that was once not too different from the Yellow Dog.
More on Inco & Sudbury:
The Inco Mine at Sudbury, Ontario shows photos of the smelting facility, which is probably the single largest point-source for acid rain-causing emissions on the entire North American continent.
Rio Tinto looks to Sudbury for R&D explains how Kennecott parent company Rio Tinto is looking to Sudbury for mining knowledge.
Reclaiming the Flambeau?
Analysis: Kennecott Eagle Minerals Company Proposal
An easy-to-read 6-page analysis of the Kennecott Permit Application from the National Wildlife Foundation
Analysis: Kennecott Eagle Minerals Company Proposal
NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION®
Great Lakes Natural Resource Center
213 West Liberty Street, Suite 200
Ann Arbor MI 48104-1398
734-769-3351
U.P. Contact: Michelle Halley, 906-361-0520
Fact Sheet: Kennecott U.P Sulfide Mining Proposal
A concise update on the Kennecot Permit Application from The National Wildlife Foundation
Fact Sheet: Kennecott U.P Sulfide Mining Proposal
NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION®
Great Lakes Natural Resource Center
213 West Liberty Street, Suite 200
Ann Arbor MI 48104-1398
734-769-3351
U.P. Contact: Michelle Halley, 906-361-0520
Why Wisconsin’s Kennecott Flambeau Mine matters to Michigan
The Rest of the Story about Kennecott’s Flambeau Mine and their request to the Wisconsin DNR for Certificate of Completion
Kennecott (AKA Flambeau Mining Company or FMC) has applied to the Wisconsin DNR for a Certificate of Completion (COC) for its reclamation activities at the Flambeau Mine site. What it boils down to is that FMC wants to get back its $11 million reclamation bond, based on the company’s claim that the site has been successfully reclaimed (If a COC is awarded, the State of Wisconsin can return up to 80% of the bond – the remaining 20% would be held for an additional 20 years).
This is not just a Wisconsin issue. The people in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and Minnesota will be affected by the decision as well. You see, Kennecott is trying to gain approval to construct mines in both MI and MN at the present time and has been using the Flambeau Mine as its calling card, telling everyone what a wonderful job the company did at Ladysmith.
Acid Mine Drainage at Sudbury
Here is a photo of the effects of metallic sulfide mining in Ontario. As you look at other photos of acid mine drainage and the impacts of sulfide mining, ask yourself “Is this a scene Michigan wants to see?”
Old sulfide mines don’t die … they just get deadlier
Here’s a story from the other side of the country about a used-up sulfide mine. When an acid mine is retired, often its work on the environment has only begun.
Shuttered mines still spewing poisons
Costs soar as acidic waters gush freely from 12 of Oregon’s abandoned mines
By Diane Dietz
The Register-Guard
The federal government has formally proposed adding the polluted and abandoned Formosa mine in Douglas County to the Superfund list of the nation’s worst toxic waste sites.
The move eventually could lead to a federal cleanup of the shuttered copper mine about 25 miles south of Roseburg, said Ken Marcy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency coordinator for the Superfund list in the region. A listing also could spark an intensified federal effort to get those responsible to pay for the cleanup, Marcy said.
The Formosa mine, perhaps the most polluted mining site in the state, was actively worked by a Canadian venture, Formosa Exploration Inc., from 1990 to 1993. Formosa was partly funded by two Japanese firms.
The state shut down the operation after Formosa repeatedly violated its state permit by excavating more than allowed and spreading waste rock over the 76-acre site atop Silver Butte. Within the honeycomb of mine shafts in the mountain, sulfide-bearing rock is exposed to air and water, creating an acidic, metals-contaminated brew that pours out of the mine entrance and from fissures in the mountainside. The mine spews about 5 million gallons a year of the acidic water into nearby streams. 
The effluent has killed about 18 miles of salmon-rearing tributaries to the South Umpqua River, including part of Cow Creek.
The mine poses a “serious, ongoing threat” to people and the environment, the EPA said.
The site has contaminated fish in Cow Creek, which is fished by members of an Indian tribe and by recreational fishermen, the agency said.
Read the rest of Mine may make Superfund list in the Eugene Register-Guard and/or visit the Umpqua Watersheds page of the Formosa (Silver Butte) Mine.
DEQ Reverses Kennecott Preliminary Decision!!!
March 1, 2007
DEQ Reverses Kennecott Preliminary Decision!!!
Congratulations to everyone who has put their time and effort into this issue.
It is a wonderful step in a positive direction.
Let’s keep the momentum!
The MDEQ just released a statement explaining that new information on the structural integrity of the proposed Kennecott mine site on the Yellow Dog Plains has caused them to reverse their preliminary approval of the permit application. They also announced that the upcoming Public Hearings in both Marquette and Lansing have been cancelled.
Click here to view the Press Release
UPDATE: AP reporter John Flesher has a thorough article on yesterday’s acknowledgement by the DEQ that they hadn’t adequately considered reports questioning whether the mine’s roof would hold up. Read DEQ withdraws tentative backing of Kennecott Mine.
Please take a few minutes to celebrate, contemplate and communicate with others! We will try to provide more information to all of you as it becomes available. <!–[if !supportEmptyParas]–> <!–[endif]–>
Coaster Brook Trout in Danger
Trout Unlimited tells us that there was once an abundant population of coaster brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) across Lake Superior that drew anglers from across the country. Over-fishing, introduction of new species and the destruction of the trout’s habitat reduced the coasters’ numbers to today’s small populations.
According to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the Salmon Trout River in northern Marquette County is thought to be the only location for natural reproduction of the coaster brook trout in Michigan. Today, 26 governmental agencies, tribal entities, non-profit organizations and universities from across Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ontario are working together to rehabilitate the coaster brook trout.
Is this mine worth the risk to another irreplaceable species?
Further Reading
- Trout Unlimited Lake Superior Coaster Brook Trout Initiative from Trout Unlimited
- Rehabilitating the Legendary Coaster Brook Trout from the Michigan DNR.
- Metallic Sulfide Mining: A Threat to Coaster Brook Trout, National Wildlife Federation white paper