mining

Nickel-copper mine project in the UP being sold for $325 million

Mark Brush — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 18:53:45 +0000

The owner of the controversial Eagle mine project in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Rio Tinto PLC, says it will sell the project to Canada's Lundin Mining Corp. for $325 million.

The deal will require approval from regulators.

Rio Tinto is still building the mine which they say is 55% complete. Construction started in 2010.

In this morning's Michigan news headlines. . .

Emily Fox — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 12:14:28 +0000

Michigan population increases for the first time in seven years

Michigan gained population in 2012 for the first time in seven years, the Detroit News reports.

'This halts a decade of population losses, but population is still growing far slower than other states. U.S. Census Bureau estimates released Thursday show the state grew at just 0.1 percent, adding 6,559 residents to 9,883,360.'

Snow dumps 14 inches in northern Michigan

"A snowstorm hitting the Midwest has dumped more than 10 inches of snow in northern Michigan and knocked out power to at least 60,000 state electricity customers. The weather service says snowfall totals could reach 13 inches in northern Michigan and 14 inches in northern lower Michigan before the storm exits Michigan Friday," the Associated Press reports.

Snyder signs personal property tax and mining legislation

"Governor Rick Snyder has signed a plan to phase out the state’s tax on business and industrial equipment. Manufacturers, in particular, say the tax discourages investment in Michigan. Snyder also approved an overhaul of how mining in Michigan is taxed. The new tax on mining production will replace a hodgepodge of taxes paid by mines," Rick Pluta reports.

DEQ reviewing final permit application for new U.P. copper mine

Rebecca Williams — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 16:33:11 +0000

The company Orvana Resources is one step closer to getting the approval it needs to build a new mine. The Copperwood Mine is proposed for a site north of the town of Wakefield in the western U.P. The state is reviewing the company’s final environmental permit.

The Department of Environmental Quality has already given the company mining, wastewater and air permits.

Mining resurgence in Michigan's UP gains some national attention

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Fri, 25 May 2012 19:57:05 +0000

The boom and bust nature of the mining industry is nothing new to residents of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. And while recent decades have seen the region's once-prosperous iron and copper mines falling further and further into "bust" territory, the last few years have seen a resurgence of interest from companies hoping to pull valuable ore from this remote part of the state.

Huron Mountain Club files federal lawsuit against Upper Peninsula mine

Peter Payette for The Environment Report — Tue, 08 May 2012 20:43:45 +0000

A private club in the Upper Peninsula has filed suit to stop the construction of a new mine in Marquette County. It’s the first federal lawsuit to attempt to stop the project.

The nickel and copper mine, owned by Kennecott Eagle Minerals, has received permits from the state. But the Huron Mountain Club says the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers needs to sign off too.

The club owns nearly 20,000 acres of forest downstream from the mine on the Salmon Trout River.

The lawsuit says sulfuric acid produced by sulfide mining could pollute the river, and the club is "horror-struck" by the prospect of the watershed collapsing because part of the mine will be dug directly underneath it.

The lawsuit also says the federal government needs to consider the potential for damage to Eagle Rock, a site near the entrance to the mine that is sacred to American Indians.

The mine has been under construction since 2010.

Attorney for the Huron Mountain Club Rick Addison expects Kennecott will argue that it is too late to bring up this issue, but he says it was the company’s decision to build the mine without the necessary permits.

"The lateness argument has no resonance to me, it’s simply the last refuge of the environmental scoundrel," said Addison.

In a written statement, Kennecott says the mine has been extensively reviewed and already survived multiple legal challenges.