There are two ways to look at it. The Detroit News thinks we should love having a sulfide mine in the middle of the pristine Yellow Dog and Salmon Trout watershed. A number of environmental groups and the Keweenaw Bay Band of Ojibwek think otherwise. According to them, the mine threatens our drinking water and prevents access to and unconditionally alters a sacred site. According to Kennecott, blasting at the site could begin as early as September 14, next Wednesday.

First, the Detroit News:
Return Mining to the UP
Michigan's Upper Peninsula has thousands of miles of unspoiled natural beauty, with pristine rivers and lakes, lush forests and breathtaking coastlines. What it doesn't have a lot of are good-paying jobs.

Kennecott Eagle Minerals Co. wants to start changing that by opening a nickel and copper mine in Marquette County. Three hundred workers are already on the job preparing the site for the start of construction, 500 workers will be employed building the mine, and 200 miners will be needed once it opens.

This is a return to the U.P.'s traditional employment base born of its bountiful natural resources. In the late 19th century and first half of the 20th century, the Upper Peninsula boomed based on iron ore and copper mining, and lumbering.

Kennecott believes a mining renaissance of sorts might be coming, particularly due to the high demand for nickel in the batteries that will power electric cars. And there's plenty of copper left, if it can be extracted economically.

Before the potential of renewed mining can be explored, however, the Eagle Mine must get past one more hurdle thrown up by environmentalists who are opposed to any industrial activity in the U.P. that might disturb the environment, even minimally.

Kennecott has spent eight years going through the permitting process, and now must convince Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Paula Manderfield to uphold the state Department of Environmental Quality's 2007 approval of the mine.

The permit was granted by the DEQ under the Granholm administration, which did not readily come down on the side of business in environmental disputes. It was granted after Kennecott agreed to extraordinary measures to protect the environment, including taking precautions against the release of sulfuric acid from the sulfide rock that encases the nickel and copper.

The company also relocated the mine's entrance to address concerns from local Indian tribes about disturbing a traditional worship site.

And yet opponents still have gone to court to block mining.

The Eagle Mine promises to be one of the most environmentally friendly mining operations in the world. If it is successful, it could revive the mining industry in the U.P. and do so in an environmentally responsible way. It could also lead the way to a much-needed employment surge in the region.

The judge should put an end to the obstructions, trust that the DEQ acted in the best interests of the state's environment and allow construction of the mine to begin as scheduled later this month.

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110907/...#ixzz1XNi5VbEW

Now for the opponents' story:
Groups make last-ditch legal effort to block Kennecott mine

Eartha Jane Melzer| 09.02.11 | 1:06 pm

Opponents of a nickel and copper mine that is slated to begin blasting this month have asked a judge to issue an injunction on drilling while she considers an appeal of permits granted for the project.

The Huron Mountain Club, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, National Wildlife Federation and Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve say that the Dept. of Natural Resources ignored their own experts during the permitting process.

The groups warn that acid runoff from the mine is likely to impact Lake Superior and destroy habitat for the rare coastal brook trout.

They also argue that mining at the site will destroy Eagle Rock, a 60-foot-high outcrop on the Yellow Dog Plain that holds cultural significance for the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community.

“My people have prayed and held ceremonies at Eagle Rock since time immemorial,” Susan LaFerniere, a member of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community said in a statement Thursday. “No one should be allowed to blast it apart. I hope the judge grants this request.”

Michigan’s mining law forbids activities that damage places of worship but in a controversial 11th hour decision last year the DNR approved the project, stating that only buildings are to be considered places of worship.

Former Upper Peninsula congressman Bart Stupak has warned that Michigan is not prepared to regulate Kennecott’s mining project.

Last year he said that Kennecott’s parent company, Rio Tinto, is known for cutting corners on environmental and safety matters and that a $17 million assurance bond put up by the company would not be enough to deal with damage that the mine could create.

Responsibility for regulating operations at this massive project falls entirely to the state and DEQ officials have acknowledged that may not not be able to inspect the mine even once a year.

http://michiganmessenger.com/52206/g...kennecott-mine


My note: Kennecott planned to put the portal for the mine directly under Eagle Rock. Any changes to the location would be minor. Access to the Rock for purpose of ceremony and worship has been denied since a group camping there for ceremonial protest purposes was evicted in early June. The site is fenced off and guarded.