Great Lakes Echo (http://greatlakesecho.org/tag/mining/page/2/)
By Evan KreagerGreat Lakes Echo
Take a look at this map. Cover the title, key and footer. It looks as if someone had a blank map of Michigan and began splattering paint across it. It’s like a work of art. But when the title of the map is revealed, it becomes obvious that all those pretty colors are actually different types of wells strewn across Michigan’s mitten.
By Alan LeagueGreat Lakes Echo A proposed open-pit iron mine in the Penokee Range in northern Wisconsin has sparked debate over the state’s mining law. Gogebic Taconite, a mining company based in Hurley, Wis., first proposed the mine in 2011. As the application process continues, debate over whether the mine should open increases. Supporters hope the mine will bring jobs to the state; critics fear the mine’s potential impact on the environment. “We took a strong stand in opposition to the mine in 2011 almost as soon as we heard about it,” said Dave Blouin, chair of the political committee of the John Muir Chapter of the Sierra Club based in Madison.
Led by volunteers, The Committee to Ban Fracking in Michigan has decided to postpone its petition until the next election season in order to gain momentum.
The fight over the fate of a massive iron ore mine has moved this summer from the state Capitol in Madison to the forests of northwestern Wisconsin.
Great Lakes advocates should focus less on federal funding and more on state issues, such as mining threats, groundwater conservation and risky oil shipments.
The Eagle Project mine in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is facing opposition from the local Native American community which says the mine is being blasted directly into a sacred site.
Larry Lankton tracks the birth, boom and bust of the industry that once dominated the nation’s copper production. Gary Kaunonen focuses on the immigrants from Finland whoworked in the mines, and the strife between labor and management.
The state has already approved one controversial mine in the Upper Peninsula, and now other companies are poised to start a similar lengthy permit application process.
The Department of Natural Resources and Environment approved a permit for the Kennecott Minerals Co. Eagle project in the Yellow Dog Plains earlier this year.
By Nick Mordowanec
Dec. 9, 2009
LANSING, Mich. —Environmental groups in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula have proposed a mining initiative to protect the state’s water supply. But lawmakers representing the U.P. are opposing a ballot measure by environmental groups like the Save Our Water Committee and Save the Wild UP, arguing that sulfide mining would generate jobs. The initiative claims sulfide and uranium mining threatens water in the Great Lakes basin.
(MN) Minneapolis Star Tribune – Minnesota’s first copper mine took a step forward Wednesday as state officials released a 1,500-page environmental impact study for the Iron Range proposal. The $600 million project, to be built by PolyMet Mining Inc., would include an open-pit mine near Babbitt and a processing plant near Hoyt Lakes, connected by an existing 6-mile railroad spur. Company officials said the mine would create 400 permanent jobs for more than 20 years, and would produce nickel, cobalt, platinum and other valuable metals. More