Tag Archives: mining

ACTION ALERT: Ashland County Zoning meeting seeks public to testify on sulfide mining

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On Friday, March 8, 2019 at 9 AM the Ashland County Zoning committee will be meeting to move a new set of sulfide mining ordinances out of committee and on to the full board. Zoning Committee Chair Joe Rose Sr. is asking for the public to step up and testify in favor of the new ordinances. The meeting is being held in the Ashland County Board Room.

Tyler Forks, Penokee Hills, Wisconsin

Background: After Gogebic Taconite (GTac) was driven out of the state in 2015, the Wisconsin legislature, dominated by Republicans, overturned the decades-old “prove it first” Wisconsin sulfide mining law. The old law prevented companies that had a proven record of pollution from doing business in Wisconsin. After that law was overturned, the entire state became vulnerable to possible devastating environmental damages that would be caused by such a mine.

Sulfide mining focuses on copper, gold, silver and other precious metals. According to Save the Boundary Waters:

The sulfide-ore copper mining industry has a disastrous track record. A peer-reviewed report prepared by Earthworks studied fourteen sulfide-ore copper mines representing 89% of current U.S. copper production. Of those fourteen mines, all had experienced some sort of pipeline spill or other accidental release. Thirteen of the fourteen (92%) had experienced water collection and treatment failures that resulted in significant impacts to water quality. The tailings dam failure at the Mount Polley Mine in British Columbia in August 2014 shows the catastrophic potential for such failures (Earthworks 2012).

Read about the possible devastation of sulfide mining here. 

Please come to the Ashland County Board Room and speak up in defense of the water.

Yellow mine waste water from the Gold King Mine is seen in San Juan County, Colorado

Hayward Screening of “Wisconsin Mining Standoff”

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Hayward LegalWEB
** For Immediate Release ***

SCREENING AND DISCUSSION OF DOCUMENTARY ON PROPOSED PENOKEE IRON MINE

Hayward, September 11, Park Theatre, 6:30pm

A short documentary film which addresses the controversial, proposed iron mine in the Penokee Hills will be screened at the Park Theatre in Hayward, Wisconsin, Thursday, September 11th, 6:30pm.  A panel discussion with open community forum will follow the film.

WISCONSIN’S MINING STANDOFF was produced by Milwaukee-based 371 Productions for the Al Jazeera America “Fault Lines” program and premiered June of 2014. The filmmakers visited Ashland and Iron Counties to gather stories of the people there and the company behind the mine.

Gogebic Taconite (GTac) proposes to dig North America’s largest open pit mine in the Penokee Hills. Company executives are interviewed, as are area residents in opposition to the mine.

Viewers will visit a century-old family owned dairy farm, join a geologist on a rock hunt, and hike deep into the winter woods to spend time at a harvest camp established by members of the Lac Courtes Orielles (LCO) Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe. Local residents and members of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa raise concerns about acid mine drainage that would likely contaminate the Bad River and the large sloughs at the edge of Lake Superior.  The Chairwoman of the Iron County Mining Impact Committee, on the other hand, maintains GTac’s mine would bring desperately needed jobs to a region with high unemployment.

If you care about democracy or the environment, or simply love good drama, you won’t want to miss this deep look into the controversy.  The dive into the issues will continue after the half-hour film.  A panel made up mainly of people featured in the film will field questions from the audience.

The panelists will be:

•  Dr. Tom Fitz, geologist, Northland College
Paul DeMain, journalist, publisher of Indian County Today, member of LCO Band
Philomena Kebec, attorney, member of Bad River Band
Barbara With, citizen journalist, activist, author

The screening is sponsored by the Penokee Hills Education Project.

miningimpactcoalition.org

Press contacts:

Will Pipkin, event organizer, 715-763-3462, 715-209-3597
Devon Cupery, 371 Productions, 414-617-5843, 371productions.com

DNR IS ASKING FOR INPUT ON GTAC BULK SAMPLING PERMIT

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Wisconsin Geological Survey shows grunerite, one of the most toxic forms of asbestos, is present on and near the proposed mine site.

Wisconsin Geological Survey shows grunerite, one of the most toxic forms of asbestos, is present on and near the proposed mine site.

On August 15, 2013 the DNR will hold a public hearing at Hurley High School from 10 AM to 8 PM to hear public testimony about issuing a bulk sampling permit to GTac. Those who cannot make the hearing have until September 3 to mail or email testimony.

Mail to:
Larry Lynch, DNR
101 S. Webster Street
Madison, Wisconsin 53707

Email:
DNRWAMINING-GOGEBICTACONITE@Wisconsin.gov.

Listed below are some talking points. Read the articles and watch the short video to learn why we reject this mining law as illegal and immoral, and why we must reject GTac’s bulk sample permit, for the sake of our children, and our land, air and water.

Why There Will Be No Mine

Asbestos and Cancer: GTac claims there is no asbestos in the Penokee Hills, a well-documented fact.

GTAC Lies About Asbestos In The Penokee Hills

GTac left a mess behind from their core drilling

Death Threats and Paramilitary Distract from GTacs Dirty Little Secrets

Being Defrauded by GTac: GTac has lied to the public since the beginning and is still lying
We demand that businesses abide by the law, and county agencies enforce the law.

GTAC’s Militia Allowed to Operate Outside the Law in Wisconsin

Mining Company Has No Answers for Iron County Residents

Iron County Residents Concerned about Land Lease to Mining Company

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DNR Holding Public Hearing on GTAC Bulk Sample Permit

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photo: Ros Nelson

photo: Ros Nelson

News Release Published: August 1, 2013 by the Central Office

Contact(s): Ann Coakley, DNR Waste and Materials director – 608-516-2492.

MADISON – The Department of Natural Resources has scheduled a public informational hearing August 15 on the proposed bulk sampling activity and the preapplication notice to mine at Gogebic Taconite’s potential mining project near Mellen, Wisconsin.

The bulk sampling activity and potential mining site are located in the town of Anderson, Iron County, and the town of Morse in Ashland County, with the majority of the site in Iron County. For bulk sampling, the company has proposed to remove a total of 4,000 tons of rock. The rock would be removed from four or five sites using standard excavating equipment and could also involve some blasting activity. The rock would be loaded on to haul trucks and transported off-site for testing and analysis.

The hearing will be held at the Hurley High School, 5503 W. Range View Drive, Hurley, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The hearing will be a public informational hearing, where individuals can provide oral or written comments as well as learn about the proposed bulk sampling activity and the preapplication description of the potential mine project.

Agency staff will provide a brief summary of the available information about the bulk sampling and DNR approvals needed by Gogebic Taconite. These informational presentations will be at 10 a.m. and again at 5 p.m., The department will also provide a summary of the steps that must be followed prior to the submission of a mining application for the project.

The department will accept both written and oral comments at the hearing on the proposed bulk sampling activities and the preapplication description. A hearing officer will be present to conduct the hearing and may put time limits on individual oral statements to ensure an opportunity for all persons present to make statements. The hearing officer may also limit the number of representatives making oral statements on behalf of any person or group.

The public may also submit written questions at the hearing through the hearing officer, and there may be an opportunity for department staff to respond as part of the hearing.

30-day public comment period ends September 3

Any member of the public may also submit written comments on the proposed bulk sampling activity or the preapplication description of the potential mining project. The DNR will review all comments that are received on or before Sept. 3, 2013.

Comments may be submitted via mail to Larry Lynch, DNR, 101 S. Webster Street, Madison, Wisconsin 53707, or by e-mail to: DNRWAMINING-GOGEBICTACONITE@Wisconsin.gov.

More information available on-line and at local libraries

Information submitted to the agency by Gogebic Taconite, including the proposed bulk sample plan and preapplication description, is available on the Gogebic mining project page of the DNR website. People can sign up to receive email updates on the project through that page by clicking on the link for “subscribe to Gogebic Taconite project email updates.”

Gogebic Taconite’s project materials are also available at the Hurley Public Library, 405 5th Ave. N., Hurley, 715-561-5707; and at the Vaughn Public Library, 502 West Main St., Ashland, 715-682-7060.