Yes, Yes, and Yes! And do it now! E.P.A., DNR, and other State and Federal agencies should get behind Gogebic Taconite, LLC and local Iron County Government leaders to facilitate the early opening of the mine.
My wife and I tagged along with Michael Schraa (assemblyman elect for the 53rd district) and Rick Gudex (State Senator elect from Fond du Lac) and his wife for a weekend listening tour.
Iron mining began in the late 1800's and ceased in 1960, when U.S. Steel directed all of his assets and efforts to Northern Minnesota. Iron mining did not cease because of pollution or other environmental factors.
Iron mining is also a big factor in upper Michigan. The Iron Industry and government officials work together to make the industry safer and cleaner on an ongoing time line in Michigan and Minnesota. With change being a fact of life, it is necessary for all concerned to work together to solve these challenges.
Local Gogebic Taconite management people have moved to the area and are as down to earth people as our neighbors. They also want a safe and clean environment.
Our Saturday, tour guide Leslie a local independent mine advocate, not an employee of Gogebic Taconite drank a glass of water from a stream that flowed from a large mountain of tree covered tailings of the old preregulatory mining days. “Tailings” is rock, etc. leftovers from mining. Her husband works for the government and she is a clean environment advocate that sees the mine as a friendly clean neighbor that will take one of the poorest counties in Wisconsin to one with jobs paying up to $80,000.00 per year.
Iron County's (population of about 5,000, and 2nd largest by land area) biggest export is said to be its' youth, because there are no area job opportunities. Hurley public school has the capacity for 800, but only 625 students attend. The school system is debt free. There would be no need to expand the school system physical facilities when the mine become operational. The county has debt, but mining tax will take care of that problem. Roads, sewer, water and other infrastructure is operating below its well maintained capacity. Dirt cheap and a well maintained surplus of housing and building sites exist in the area.
To put it another way, the mining footprint will be small but will provide employment for locals and its well educated children. Close by Ashland has a cooperating vocational school system, and the expected transfer of about a dozen mining technicians would be able to finish training the expected 600 employees that can be drawn from a 50 mile radius including the probable return of natives that had moved away over the years because of the job shortage.
The footprint, we talked about includes lack of pollution, abundance of infrastructure and labor, so let's discuss transportation. Roads are in excellent repair and a major railroad has a mothballed road bed that needs little upgrading other than ties and rails (RR tracks). There is an existing RR line south from Mellon to Prentice (Highway 8) and East to the loading docks at Escanaba, Michigan. Other options exist such as direct rail to Indiana or the steel smelters in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Iron mines have existed for well over 100 years in Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin without environmental problems and without regulation in the early days of mining. With mining cooperation that exists in adjoining states, a partnership between mining companies, labor, government (local, state, and federal) is a win for all. All we need fear is self serving politicians.
Government mining laws and rules have existed for over 50 years and continue to change every day, so it is most important to measure the degree of flexibility that exists within the concerned parties, not the rules and regulations that are put in place to begin mining.
We are not reinventing the wheel but tweaking the design to make it roll smoother.
The people of Iron County while poor by most standards, are a proud people with modest but well kept homes, well kept yards and sidewalks, and we saw no graffiti (except one) and no painted over areas.
Oh, Gogebic Taconite and local government officials said they do not need State or Federal dollars to bring the mine to operation. I was shocked because we asked that question many times to many people, yet $1.5 Billion (Yes $1,500,000,000) of private funds (1.5 times the current total county valuation) will be spent in the first two years employing 2,000 construction workers to bring the mine on line. Then 600 will operate the mine for the first 35 years. The footprint will be half-mile wide by 4.5 miles long.
There is but 1.5 mile area of wetlands that will be impacted but our guide mentioned that problem can be solved, The total iron vein is about 1 mile wide and 22 miles long with only half-mile by 4.5 miles are needed for the next 35 years.
There are several neighboring rivers and streams but no mining or disturbance will come closer to them than 300 feet, which is the current regulation from what I understood.
I agree, we saw some very beautiful pristine waterways, rapids, and waterfalls, which will not be disturbed. They are absolutely gorgeous and not one wants them disturbed.
When the mines are spent, it sometimes takes decades to fill the empty cavity with water, leaving the region with an asset that will exist forever for recreation and enjoyment with no pollution.
Yes, iron ore mining is a win-win for all interests
Stephen Landolt
Town of Nikimi