Sunday, August 14, 2005

U.P. mine proposal triggers controversy

Environmentalists fear operation could taint fish habitats, but firm says it has safe track record.

By Deb Price / Detroit News Washington Bureau

Comment on this story Send this story to a friend Get Home Delivery

Environmentalists warn that a controversial proposal to open a nickel mine in the Upper Peninsula may mark the beginning of a mining boom that could threaten fish, spoil the wilderness of the Yellow Dog Plains, and leak dangerous sulfuric acid and heavy metals such as mercury into waters flowing into Lake Superior.

Kennecott Minerals Co. wants to develop a nickel mine about 25 miles northwest of Marquette at the headwaters of the Salmon Trout River, famous for being one of the last habitats where anglers can catch coaster brook trout. The river and nearby waterways head into Lake Superior.

Michigan is weighing the Utah-based company's proposal under tough new environmental protection regulations for mining that Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed last year. Several other mining companies are also exploring potential sites in the Upper Peninsula, once a big mining area because of rich deposits of copper, iron and other minerals.

"This is about our waters, which are what defines Michigan," said environmentalist Cynthia Pryor, who commutes on cross-country skis during the winter from her cabin near Big Bay, a Lake Superior shoreline community. "It's not worth the risk."

Environmentalists already are concerned about potential damage to the Great Lakes from mining activities in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Canada.

Joe Maki, mining specialist for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, said his team is studying the Kennecott proposal to ensure that any sulfuric acid from the nickel mine wouldn't get into groundwater or rivers.

"We're going about it cautiously," Maki said. .

The company counters that it has a proven track record of safely mining copper in Wisconsin within 140 feet of the Flambeau River. Copper, like nickel, is created in the presence of sulfur, which can turn to sulfuric acid when exposed to air and water.

Only two metallic mines are active in Michigan today, both of which are large iron mines owned by Cliffs Michigan Mining: the Empire Mine in Palmer and the Tilden Mine in the town of National Mining. A big copper mine in White Pine shut down in 1995.

Three of the six main iron ranges in the United States are primarily in Michigan, and copper mining was once a huge business in the Keweenaw region until the end of World War I. Growing worldwide competition and increasing costs for extraction led to a decline.