With information from the Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship and videos by Allan Baker
During his presentation on the Keweenaw Copper exploration project to members of the Keweenaw Peninsula Chamber of Commerce in February 2012, Ross Grunwald -- now vice president of Highland Copper Company and project manager/vice president of Keweenaw Copper Company -- fields questions from the audience. Also pictured is Paul Lehto (seated, center), Calumet Township supervisor. (Keweenaw Now file photo by Allan Baker)*
Grunwald will explain why his company is exploring for copper in the area and will offer an update on the status of the project. He will also describe Highland’s environmental, community engagement, and social responsibility programs.**
Ross Grunwald has a B.S and Ph.D from South Dakota School of Mines and Geology and an M.Sc. from the University of Hawaii. He is a registered professional geologist in California, Oregon, and Washington and a certified hydrogeologist in California. Grunwald explored and mined copper at Centennial in the 1970s.
Editor's Notes:
* Click here for Keweenaw Now's March 26, 2012, article on Ross Grunwald's presentation to the Keweenaw Peninsula Chamber of Commerce and on the technical report issued September 29, 2011, by Behre Dolbear Mineral Industry Advisors, titled "Canadian National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report on the Centennial and Kingston Native Copper, 543S, and other Copper Sulfide Properties, Houghton and Keweenaw Counties, Michigan, USA."
** Click here for a fact sheet, dated February 2013, on Highland Copper Company's mining exploration in the Keweenaw.
Keweenaw Now will be presenting a series of video reports/articles on some of KUUF's mining education series programs. The following, first in our series, is a video report of the presentation titled "How Does Mining Impact Ojibwa Land and Culture?"
KUUF Mining Forum Video Report: "How Does Mining Impact Ojibwa Land and Culture?"
On March 10, 2013, the Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship welcomed Jessica Koski, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) mining technical assistant, and Chuck Brumleve, environmental mining specialist for KBIC, who presented "How Does Mining Impact Ojibwa Land and Culture?" They spoke about impacts to water quality, air quality, wetlands and traditional Native American cultural practices as well as tribal concerns about historic treaty rights in the Ojibwa (Anishinaabe) ceded territories.
In the following video clip, Jessica Koski presents background on Ojibwa treaty rights (Videos by Allan Baker for Keweenaw Now):
Chuck Brumleve gives a historical overview of recent and potential mining in the Keweenaw and environmental impacts of the industry. He also speaks about treaty rights in the Ojibwa ceded territory:
Here Brumleve, a geologist, talks about the rush of mining exploration in the ceded territories and explains the potential impacts to water quality posed by the present plans for the Orvana Copperwood mine near Lake Superior:
In the next video clip, Brumleve points out the dangers to water quality from the potential Eagle Mine, a sulfide mine for copper and nickel near Big Bay, Michigan. He also speaks about the Humboldt Mill and tailings pit:
Jessica Koski speaks about the cultural importance of Eagle Rock, an Ojibwa sacred site, now the portal to the Eagle Mine near Big Bay, Michigan, and about the impacts of mining on Native cultural and religious practices:
During the question period, Brumleve and Koski explain why the State of Michigan does not honor Native American treaty rights that were signed with the federal government. Michigan is one of two states (the other is New Jersey) with permitting authority delegated to them by the federal government:
Finally, Koski and Brumleve address a question on mineral rights:
In our next video report in this series, Keweenaw Now will present excerpts from an April 14, 2013, presentation by Jim Ludwig, ecotoxicologist, on mining reclamation at the Flambeau Mine in Ladysmith, Wis., as well as a report on KUUF's recent tour of the White Pine Mine site and the Flambeau site.
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