From DC Bureau: Midwest mining rush threatens water: Part II: Tourism vs. Mining

by Tiffany Danitz Pache
Posted Nov. 4, 2010 on DC Bureau

[Editor's Note: This is the second in a series of six articles from dcbureau.org investigating the sulfide mining boom in the Midwest and its potential effect on tourism, water and the environment.]

Excerpt from this article:

Many local residents where mines are being proposed do not believe the mining industry’s claims about environmentally safe mining and the number of mining jobs. In Michigan’s UP where Rio Tinto’s Kennecott Eagle has been permitted and has started mine construction, Bill Thompson, a resident and business owner, says, "Kennecott has not operated a mine without having some kind of environmental accident at their site. The concern for us, as a retailer here, is that this proposed mine, whether they can do it safely or not, is situated below the Salmon Trout River and it empties into Lake Superior. With recent history with the Gulf (of Mexico), you don’t have to look further into it to figure that any environmental accident will go into Lake Superior and Lake Superior is more valuable than anything they are going to pull out of that mine. I don’t feel it is worth the risk for the few jobs they are proposing to create."

Click here to read the whole article on dcbureau.org.