See our right-hand column for announcements and news briefs. Scroll down the right-hand column to access the Archives -- links to articles posted in the main column since 2007. See details about our site, including a way to comment, in the yellow text above the Archives.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

From DC Bureau: Midwest mining rush threatens water, Part III: A river runs through it

By Tiffany Danitz Pache

On a span of Michigan’s storied Upper Peninsula that includes the largest ancient forest east of the Mississippi River, a sacred Native American site called Eagle Rock, the Salmon Trout River and the shores of Lake Superior, the London-based Rio Tinto has gained the rights to mine sulfide ore and extract nickel and copper in exchange for a handful of local jobs. It is dubbed the Eagle Project.

Rio Tinto’s subsidiary, Kennecott, owns the mineral rights to 245,000 acres in Marquette County, Michigan, and has leased 5,500 acres of public land and 4,000 acres of mineral rights on privately held lands. With the Eagle Project, the company plans to invest $489 million to build the nickel and copper mine making it the primary nickel mine in the United States when construction is completed and production begins in 2013. ... Read the rest of this Nov. 9, 2010 article from dcbureau.org.

Editor's Note: Also, read the comments below the article, especially those posted by Jessica Koski of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) and Jack Parker, veteran mining expert, who has challenged the Kennecott mining application for the potential instability in their design.

No comments: