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Happenings in the Keweenaw Peninsula March 15, 2004 Text © 2004 Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition and Eagle Alliance press releases and Michele Anderson. Photos © 2004 Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve and Eagle Alliance (reprinted with permission) and Michele Anderson.

UPEC, Eagle Alliance to hold public forums on U.P. sulfide mining plans

HOUGHTON -- Sulfide mining. What is it? How is it different from the historic iron and copper mining in the Upper Peninsula? What dangers does it pose to the environment -- particularly Michigan’s streams, lakes, and aquifers? What can be done by modern mining technology to contain or minimize the dangers?

To explore these questions, the Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition (UPEC) will be holding an informational forum at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Mar. 16, at the Finnish American Heritage Center in Hancock.

UPEC is a member of the Eagle Alliance, a group of organizations and individuals concerned about protecting Michigan's waters against Acid Mine Drainage, a serious by-product of sulfide mining. The Eagle Alliance was formed last fall to highlight the concerns over a proposed nickel-copper mine on the Yellow Dog Plains in northern Marquette County. Kennecott Mineral Explorations has discovered a small but valuable mineral deposit on the Plains right above the headwaters of the Salmon Trout River.

View of the Salmon Trout River. Kennecott Mineral Explorations has discovered a small but valuable mineral deposit on the Yellow Dog Plains above the river's headwaters. (Photo © 2004 and courtesy Eagle Alliance. Reprinted with permission.)

UPEC members serving as resource persons for the forum are Dave Allen, Northern Michigan University professor of business; Alex Mayer, Michigan Tech University professor of civil and environmental engineering; and Jon Saari, Northern Michigan University historian. They will join Cynthia Pryor, executive director, Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve and Eagle Alliance representative, for an informational discussion. The presentation is free and open to the public. For more information contact UPEC at 483-4729. Refreshments will be served.

The Eagle Alliance will also hold a public forum in L'Anse at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Mar. 24, in the L’Anse Township Hall. This forum is intended to provide updates and information to the public about potential sulfide mining in Upper Peninsula. There will be a question-and-answer session following the presentation.

At the annual membership meeting of FOLK (Friends of the Land of Keweenaw) in the KBIC (Keweenaw Bay Indian Community) Senior Center in Baraga last November, Cynthia Pryor of the Eagle Alliance points to a map showing potential sites of sulfide mining for the Western Upper Peninsula. Eagle Alliance members are concerned about current exploration by Kennecott Exploration and Mining Company at the headwaters of the Salmon Trout River in northern Marquette County. (Photo by Michele Anderson)

The Eagle Alliance is a state-wide coalition of concerned citizens, business owners, hunting and fishing enthusiasts, environmental groups, landowners, university professors and students. In addition to the Eagle Alliance, other groups seeking to protect the Upper Peninsula’s natural resources from degradation resulting from sulfide mining include the following: National Wildlife Federation, Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve, some chapters of Trout Unlimited, Michigan United Conservation Clubs, Michigan Environmental Council and Sierra Club.

View of the Yellow Dog River, a wild trout stream in northern Marquette County. Eagle Alliance members, including the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve, are concerned that potential sulfide mining in this area could harm the Yellow Dog Watershed. (Photo © 2004 and courtesy Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve and Eagle Alliance. Reprinted with permission.)

“Prospect Eagle” is the name Kennecott Corporation (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto, a corporation based out of London, England) gave to the mineral exploration it has been doing since 1994 in northwest Marquette County.

Kennecott owns the mineral rights to 245,000 acres in Marquette County, has leased 5,500 acres of public lands and 4,000 acres of mineral rights on private lands -- twenty-six percent of all of Marquette County’s mineral rights. In addition, they have mineral rights to 217,000 acres in Baraga County.

The Eagle Alliance is working to establish new statutory requirements that will protect Upper Peninsula  natural resources and landscapes from degradation resulting from sulfide mining. New requirements needed include regulations requiring that a sulfide mining applicant demonstrate past mines where pollution has been prevented as well as technical requirements specific to sulfide mining processes.

At the November 2003 general membership meeting of FOLK (Friends of the Land of Keweenaw) in Baraga, Cynthia Pryor explained the Eagle Alliance's efforts to protect water quality from possible sulfide mining contamination. Pryor explained that when metals in sulfide ores are extracted they come in contact with air, water and bacteria. The sulfides in the minerals oxidize, creating sulfuric acid and acid mine drainage (AMD). Acid mine drainage contains not only acid, but also dissolved metals that can be toxic.

A sulfide mine leaking Acid Mine Drain. (Photo © 2004 and courtesy Eagle Alliance. Reprinted with permission.)

She noted also that Michigan presently has no requirement for a permit to put in an underground mine. Consequently the Eagle Alliance seeks to change Part 631 of the state's Reclamation Mining Act.

"We're looking for a state moratorium on sulfide mining -- similar to what Wisconsin has in place," Pryor told FOLK members.

Cynthia Pryor, standing, of the Eagle Alliance addresses the Friends of the Land of Keweenaw (FOLK) at their November 2003 membership meeting at the KBIC Senior Center in Baraga. At right is Becky Darling, FOLK secretary. Also pictured are Jim Welsh of L'Anse and Judy Smith of L'Anse. (Photo by Michele Anderson)

Jim Welsh of L'Anse attended the FOLK meeting, he said, to find out about the water pollution.

"Once our water starts getting more polluted, I would say that's the end of life as we know it," he said.

Mike Donofrio, Natural Resources director for the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, who was present at the FOLK meeting, said the (Tribal) Council has formally opposed sulfide mining in the State of Michigan.

"Our Natural Resources Department is participating in environmental studies related to the proposed mining area in Baraga and Marquette counties," he noted.

In December 2003, the Copper Country Chapter of Trout Unlimited, which is not affiliated with the Eagle Alliance, heard a presentation on sulfide mining from Professor Ted Bornhorst of Michigan Tech's Department of Geological and Mining Engineering. Bornhorst said he was familiar with the area Kennecott has been exploring and with the company's mining practices. He also has been in contact with landowners from whom the company hopes to lease land.

"I have done some consulting on the issue of land leases in the vicinity of the Eagle Prospect," Bornhorst said.

Bornhorst noted Kennecott is noted for "elephants," not small projects.

Drawing diagrams as he spoke, Bornhorst explained some procedures of sulfide mining and how the groundwater would have to be protected from Acid Mine Drainage.

Professor Ted Bornhorst of Michigan Tech's Department of Geological and Mining Engineering draws diagrams to illustrate his presentation on sulfide mining at the Copper Country Chapter of Trout Unlimited (CCCTU) general meeting on Dec. 4, 2003, in the Ramada Inn in Hancock. (Photo by Michele Anderson)

Several CCCTU members said after the meeting they thought Bornhorst's presentation was informative, intelligent and unbiased.

"I thought it was a very fine, well delivered presentation," said Steve Albee of Hancock. "He convinced us that we don't know enough to make an informed decision."

John Parsons of Allouez Township said the presentation gave him some idea of what sulfide mining is.

"As a trout fisherman," Parsons noted, "it helps me make more informed decisions." 

Carol MacLennan, MTU professor of environmental policy, said she learned a lot about the geology, but she felt "issues about regulations for reclamation of mine waste and the viability of technologies to prevent acid mine drainage need to be scrutinized more closely."

For more information visit the Eagle Alliance Web site (with a link to their newsletter) and Kennecott Minerals. 

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