Stand for the Land

In a two-part series, commentator Taras Berezowsky discusses the prospects for new mining projects in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and what it might mean in terms of jobs and trade-offs.

…the mix of a bad state economy, the eagerness to restart it, and weakened mining oversight — to say nothing of proximity to the world’s largest collection of fresh surface water, the Great Lakes — may be a bad combination, especially for what seems a marginal amount of production.

To read the articles, please click here:  http://agmetalminer.com/2011/12/01/rio-tinto-others-striking-gold-copper-and-nickel-in-michigans-upper-peninsula-part-one/

A parable by “Woods Person,” on greed, self-interest, and being duped, in which he urges us to consider the cost of new mining jobs and the terms that go with them.  http://woodsperson.blogspot.com/2011/10/silver-fox-parable.html

Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan are fighting the same battles right now, but who is our real enemy?  Are we to oppose all mining?

…let’s concentrate on what it surely looks like certain forces are trying to pull off here by using the attraction of this mine and the possibility of more jobs:

1. Statewide weakening of lake, river and wetland protection.
2. An attack on public input and local control.
3. “Gifting” of public assets to corporations.
4. Reduction of taxes paid to the state and local governments by large corporations.
5. Making it more difficult for voters to reverse bad laws and remove bad representation.

There are many more interests beside mining which benefit from these.

On November 11th and 12th, Michigan’s largest newspaper ran a two-part series on the resurgence of mining activity in the U.P.  A spate of mineral leasing and exploration, which began during the Engler administration, may lead to a multitude of mining projects.  To read Tina Lam’s coverage and view her excellent photo journalism, please click on the following links:

http://www.freep.com/comments/article/20111127/NEWS05/111270455/U-P-mines-seeing-resurgence-companies-hope-cash-in

http://www.freep.com/article/20111128/NEWS05/111280328/Will-mines-get-state-s-riches-paltry-sum-?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE

Looking backward, or how we came to be where we are with the Eagle Project.  An excerpt from this excellent piece by activist/writer Chuck Glossenger:

Kennecott-Rio Tinto arrived in the UP in May 1994 and quickly purchased 600,000 acres of land from Ford Motor Company. They leased thousands of acres of public land, until they obtained 26 percent of all minerals rights in Marquette County, Michigan’s largest county. In addition, they secured 217,000 acres of mineral rights in neighboring Baraga County. 

This is the root of imperialism—controlling the land. It has created fresh regulations fostering expansionism, access to resources, and lack of responsibility. When the state of Michigan leased public land to Kennecott, John Engler, a darling of the Republican right, was the governor. Engler had slashed public school funding, decimated social programs for the poor, and promoted corporate interests.

To read the article in its entirety, please click here: http://www.zcommunications.org/battleground-michigan-by-chuck-glossenger

On November 23,  Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Paula Manderfield affirmed a previous Michigan Department of Environmental Quality decision to issue a permit for the Eagle mine on the Yellow Dog Plains.

In a press release, Kennecott Eagle Minerals president Adam Burley said the decision “validates the integrity of Michigan’s stringent environmental permitting process.”

Mine opponents continue to maintain that the permitting process was fraught with error.  According to mining expert Jack Parker,  Judge Manderfield was misled by  the DEQ’s statements, which lack credibility.

For Associated Press coverage, please click here:  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45419345#.TtcOM3KxDKc

To listen to a radio interview with Jack Parker, please click here:  http://standfortheland.com/2011/10/10/jack-parker-radio-interview-errors-omissions-and-deceptions-in-the-kennecott-eagle-mine-application/

Press Release

ISHPEMING, Mich., November 9, 2011 —  Today, Kennecott Eagle Minerals announced a series of geophysical surveys to commence over Western and Central Upper Michigan.

The survey program is expected to start this month and continue for approximately three months. These surveys are part of the continuing exploration commitment by Kennecott in the Upper Peninsula.

The surveys will be completed using helicopters with geophysical equipment tethered behind the aircraft. The altitude of the helicopters will be low-level and will comply with Federal Transit Administration guidelines.

Residents will notice the helicopters flying over several U.P. counties. There are no materials being released into the environment.

Kennecott welcomes your questions and comments at kennecotteagleminerals.com/contact or by calling our Community Hotline at (906) 486-6970.

The above photo was taken by alert reader, Mark (see comments), on November 14th at 1:05 pm.  He was camping 2.5 miles north of Arnold and about 17 Miles south of Gwinn.

“We were in the UP a few days prior to the gun opener (15th) doing some bow hunting and grouse hunting. We didn’t see or hear the helicopter after Monday the 14th,”  Mark said.

12-21-11 update from auntee dahlia:  I saw the same, or a similar helicopter flying in a grid pattern last Saturday, just south of the Eagle Mine site.

11/2/11  — Timberjay

The Oct. 29 commentary from Bob McFarlin of Twin Metals was headlined “Twin Metals welcomes thoughtful discussion.”  Any discussion of sulfide mining in Minnesota should include reference to the Resource Curse.  That’s the economic theory that trying to build an economy on selling off non-renewable resources usually produces a lousy economy.

We don’t need to take seriously the industry-sponsored UMD study Mr. McFarlin referenced to understand mining economics.  We just have to drive through Virginia, Minn., which has three operating mines within a rifle shot of the main street.  They’re losing population, they have a poverty rate in the high teens, and they can’t even keep their library open on Saturday.  How many copper mines will we need on the outskirts of Ely to achieve Virginia’s miserable failure?

To continue reading, please click here:  http://timberjay.com/stories/Mining-jobs-claims-stretch-credulity,9712

In a November 5, 2011 article in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, writer Lee  Berquist offers two Upper Michigan open pit mines as examples of what Wisconsin might be in for with a resurgence in iron mining activity.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/up-pits-offer-perspective-on-wisconsin-mine-proposal-e42rvni-133308968.html

By Lee Bergquist of the Journal Sentinel – Nov. 1, 2011

Fourteen years after mining operations ended, water samples on the site of the Flambeau mine near Ladysmith show high levels of toxic pollutants.

In the most recent tests, state records show that copper and zinc levels have exceeded state toxicity standards for surface waters, potentially threatening fish and other aquatic life.

The findings come as mining regulation looms as a legislative issue this fall, and the Flambeau mine has been cited as a model of mineral extraction without environmental harm. Lawmakers are poised to rewrite mining laws and ease restrictions after Gogebic Taconite, based in Hurley, put plans on hold this year for a $1.5 billion iron ore mine until regulations are streamlined.

To continue reading, please click here:  http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/tests-find-toxins-at-flambeau-mine-133051073.html

By Lee Bergquist of the Journal Sentinel  – Oct. 31, 2011

The latest Wisconsin Policy Research Institute poll shows that the public doesn’t want changes in state mining laws if it means easing back on environmental regulations.

Thirty-seven percent of the people in the poll believed that regulations should be streamlined, but 51% also said that environmental regulations should not be weakened.

Continue reading:  http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/132889398.html

See also:  http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/mining-panel-bodes-ill-for-environment-131292619.html