My husband and I attended the Save the Boundary Waters presentation
on sulfide mining at Vermilion Community College. It was a nice slide
presentation of the layout of the area, depicting the Boundary Waters,
what makes it special, the watershed, the mineral deposits, the aquatic
and forest ecology, etc. Many of us who support the proposed
copper/nickel mining projects have heard similar presentation several
times before by Becky Rom and her friends.
What was
different this time, before a group of about 100 people, was that the
question period was literally shut down by Rom at 7:30 after two
questions. Was she intimidated by the dozen or so supporters of mining
projects and what questions they would ask? I talked to Dave Marshall
who schedules events at Vermilion and he said the theater was booked
until 9:30.
Bill Erzar asked about the sulfide content of
the ore body of Twin Metals. Rom said she didn’t know the number, yet
she knew the copper content is 5%. Erzar asked isn’t the sulfide
content an important number to know. Rom said it was in their reports.
The
next question was asked by Warren Johnson about misleading people by
saying all the ground moved would have sulfide content. This is when
Brad Sagen stepped in to explain that all the waste rock would not have
sulfide content, and he ran out the clock for questions.
Rom pulled a Hillary: Avoid further questioning, and shut down the show.
Questionable
statements made in the presentation included: “Sulfide mining has
never been done without harm to the environment.... Sulfide mining is
always toxic.... All our trees will be black spruce with mining.”
Well,
with research and cut and pasting from various websites, here is some
information on safe sulfide mining that is being done around the United
States. I believe Minnesota can mine just as safely, if not more
safely.
The Henderson Mine and Mill near Denver, Colorado.
A molybdenum sulfide mine and mill have maintained a spotless
environmental compliance record since 1976. Denver residents regularly
use areas adjacent to the mine and mill sites for fishing, camping,
picnicking, hunting, hiking, skiing and snowmobiling. Treated
wastewater from the operation supports a thriving population of Boreal
toads. Streams downstream from both the mine and mill facilities are
excellent brown and brook trout fisheries. Both the mine and the mill
are located in Denver’s watershed.
The Viburnum Mine No.
27 is developed in geology similar to that found in southwestern
Wisconsin’s lead-zinc mining district, the water from this lead-zinc
sulfide mine, which operated from 1960 to 1978, is so clean it has
served as the primary domestic water source for the town of Viburnum,
Missouri since 1981.
The McLaughlin Mine is a gold mine
acknowledged by regulators, environmentalists and the mining industry
to be a model of effective environmental practice. Since its
development in 1985, the mine has operated without environmental harm,
and has not only protected but actually enhanced the quality of both
on-site and downstream habitats and improved downstream water quality.
Ultimately the entire mine site and attached buffer lands of thousands
of acres will become a wildlife preserve and an environmental studies
field research station for the University of California.
The
Cannon Mine is a gold mine that was developed in 1985, one block south
of the Wenatchee, Washington, city limits. This agricultural community
of approximately 40,000, is known as “the apple capital of the world.”
The Cannon Mine is a model of environmentally responsible mining in an
established urban environment. The mine, which operated for nine
years, is now in the final stages of reclamation and nearly all traces
of this once bustling underground mining and milling project are gone.
All of the millsite buildings have been removed, the area regraded and
replanted; the mine portal has been plugged; and the tailings
management area has been reclaimed and planted with natural grasses.
The
local school district has converted the mine buildings into offices
and an equipment maintenance facility. As quoted in a July 2, 1996
article entitled “A Promise Kept - Mine Tailings Cleaned Up” in the
Wenatchee World, a local official states that the mine has done a good
job living up to its promises - “The scale of the (reclamation) work is
just amazing. It’s been a good project.”
Southwestern Wisconsin
Historic Lead-Zinc District - At least a dozen historic (i.e., closed)
mines in the lead-zinc district southwestern Wisconsin and adjacent
parts of Iowa and Illinois meet the arbitrary operating and closure
criteria.
Mining in this district began as early as 1825, long
before the enactment of federal and Wisconsin environmental laws and
regulations. Mining in the district continued, with the last zinc mine
closing in the late 1970s.
Most of the mines in
southwestern Wisconsin were abandoned without formal reclamation; many
were simply plowed under and today remain as nearly indiscernible
features in the rolling farmlands characteristic of this part of
Wisconsin. Although a few isolated and localized water quality problems
are known at several mines in the district, there are literally
hundreds of historic mines that do not create surface water or
groundwater pollution problems.
The ore bodies in this district
contain abundant acid-generating iron sulfide minerals (pyrite and
marcasite). However, ARD is not a problem in this district due to the
high acid neutralization capacity of the carbonate host rocks. A number
of communities in the area including Platteville and Dodgeville,
Wisconsin; Dubuque, Iowa; and Galena, Illinois and are built on top of
and adjacent to these historic mines.
The Flambeau Mine is
located in northern Wisconsin, partially within the city limits of
Ladysmith and immediately adjacent to the Flambeau River. The open-pit,
copper-gold mine began operations in July 1991. Ore shipments from the
site began in 1993 and continued for more than four years. Backfilling
of the pit took about 1.5 years and reclamation activities at the site
were completed by the end of 1999.
Storm water runoff
from sulfide waste material and the operating open pit, along with
groundwater infiltration into the pit, are treated in a
state-of-the-art water treatment facility that produces mine discharge
water which has proven safe at 100 percent concentration (i.e., without
dilution) for the most sensitive aquatic life and meets state drinking
water safety standards. Examinations of fish, crayfish,
macro-invertebrates and dragonfly; sediment sampling; and habitat
characterization both above and below the mine discharge point prove the
mine water has not adversely affected river life. Yes, water
monitoring will continue for many years.
City officials
credit the mine with creating an economic miracle for the local
community of 4,000 people. Tax revenue from the mine stimulated an
economic development boom in Rusk County where the unemployment rate
fell from 15.3% just prior to the mine opening to 4.0% in October 1996.
The Flambeau Mine is one of Rusk County’s top tourist attractions, with
over 30,000 people per year visiting the mine’s information center.
How about that! The Flambeau Mine is a tourist attraction!
Closer
to home, we have Dunka Pit. The Minnesota DNR has learned from a
taconite mine called the Dunka pit. Sulfite rock exposed there in the
1960s was leeching metals into a nearby creek. The state compelled the
mining company to build wetlands that now largely absorb the metals. The
site has been monitored since 1977 and monitoring will continue.
DNR
mining researcher Paul Eger said you can’t just walk away from a
closed sulfide mine. “We’ve learned a lot,” Eger said. “New mines can
operate with much less maintenance and much less unexpected water
quality issues.”
Jim Kuipers, an expert in hard-rock
metals mining, said sulfide mining can be done well, with the best
chance in a state with mining history like Minnesota. “If we can
encourage good mining companies, with good solid deposits to do the
right thing, we might actually make some advance in terms of
environmental protection, and things like that,” says Kuipers.
Dissolved
oxygen tests in Dunka River are very high. That means it is very
healthy. That also means the lake is NOT polluted. Some really nice
fish coming out of Birch Lake.
Lastly, I want to mention
Stillwater Mine. It is in southern Montana in the magnificent Beartooth
Mountains on the northern edge of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness,
about 30 miles north of Yellowstone National Park. This
platinum-palladium sulfide mine is an excellent example of
environmentally responsible mining in an extremely beautiful and
sensitive environment.
Operating since 1987, the
Stillwater Mine has maintained a clean environmental record. This
underground mine is recognized by regulators, environmental groups and
industry experts for its excellent concurrent reclamation activities,
wildlife enhancement projects, community support programs and
responsive environmental management.
In addition to its
scenic attributes, the area around the mine is also recognized for its
recreational opportunities - the mine is adjacent to the Stillwater
River, a Montana Blue Ribbon Trout Fishery. Stillwater Mine is in the
process of expanding its mine operation a mile east of the
Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness Area on the Custer National Forest in
known bear habitat.
In 2000, Stillwater Mining Company and
three local environmental groups signed a historic, legally binding
agreement called the Good Neighbor Agreement to iron out differences
transparently. Applying rigorous environmental practices to the mine’s
operations will protect two important Montana watersheds.
In
the past ten years, Stillwater Mine has been chosen to receive the
Bureau of Land Management’s Sustainable Mining Award twice. Stillwater
Mine was nominated by the Boulder River Watershed Association. The
recent award is for community outreach and recognizes the economic
benefits of mineral development along with contributions to the health
and quality of life in local communities.
As president of
Conservationists with Common Sense – CWCS, I plan to ask our board to
recommend a similar agreement with Twin Metals and PolyMet. Will other
environmental groups come to the table and be a partner in such an
agreement?
Nancy McReady
Ely
