Pyrrhotite, the most common of the sulfides, is indeed an iron sulfide.

Copper comes in chalcopyrite – a copper/iron sulfide.

Nickel comes in pentlandite – a nickel/iron sulfide.

Thus all three are ferrous sulfides. They all contain iron. NOT non-ferrous. One could thus argue that the “non-ferrous” laws do not apply to them.

Another way of defining the iron content is by the “valence” of the iron present. You can google valence if you need more info, but generally speaking the iron in magnetite, as in taconite, is specifically “ferric”, not ferrous. Thus the Penokee ores under consideration are mainly non-ferrous, not ferrous.

The geology AND the mining aspects should not have been left to politicians and bean-counters. Bring in the professionals.

Throw out the proposed legislation and start again from scratch. And scrutinize the drafts carefully for deceptive assumptions and presentations.
We have seen these tactics in the UP.

Allan Johnson’s first comment is OK. His second comment is not – I would never say “never” in that context !

Thank you for the opportunity to comment.

Jack Parker, Mining Engineer
Baltic, MI 49963

MTU professor Dr. Allan Johnson, who supports Kennecott’s Eagle Project, characterized the ore bodies in neighboring Iron County, Michigan, as “dangerously reactive.”

“The iron pyrite of Iron County was the most reactive I’ve ever experienced,” said Johnson, in a 2009 interview with the Mackinac Center. “A mine proposed there today with modern regulations would never be constructed.”

Note the use of the word, “modern.”

And why is our state selling off billions of dollars worth of resources for a relatively small number of jobs? Rio Tinto and HudBay are foreign mining giants with a history of environmental degradation and human rights abuse. Google will tell the tale. And once those metals are out of the ground, they are no longer ours. Rio Tinto is building skyscrapers in China, not surgical tools in the United States. Look it up.

“Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed. If we permit the last virgin forests to be turned into comic books and plastic cigarette cases. If we drive the few remaining members of the wild species into zoos and extinction. If we pollute the last clean air, dirty the last clean streams and push our paved roads through the last of the silence.” ~Wm. Stegner

That article made it look like we are all dancing with joy to be giving away our non-renewable resources that will never come back for future generations. Leaving our children to clean up the pollution.

It does not mention that most doctors have signed a petition warning that any polution is dangerous to our health. It does not mention that a hearing of almost 1,000 people at NMU all spoke against the mine, except 2 from Escanaba, who were friends of the Kennecott lawyer. That our UP MDEQ representative was out walking the hall instead of listening to the comments of the people. The other MDEQ members just sat there looking at the clock so they could cut comments off mid-sentence at 3 minutes.

The mental health of a people needs wilderness areas, they just need to know it exists, even if they do not get to go there. That sense of peace has been taken away from us. A mine has destroyed the whole area, for about 75 short term jobs, the profits go to the stockholders in England. Michigan comes out a real loser here.

We also lose much of the tourist business that hires over 2,000 people and brings money that stays in our local community. People travel to our Marquette county for the fresh air, to enjoy pure clear water, and to see wild animals that thrive in a wilderness.

Thanks,
Eric H. Sharp
editor, Tall Timber Telegraph
http://www.TallTimberTelegraph.com
erichsharp@gmail.com
editor@talltimbertelegraph.com