Antofagasta Mining is a major mining company in Chili. They want to mine the copper and nickel ore in the lands adjacent to the Boundary Waters. They have set up a shell company called Twin Metals to be the front face of the operation.
The problem is they will us an acid mining technique which will produce sulfuric acid, heavy metals, and sulfites as a byproduct. It is basically guaranteed that the dams holding the tailings will fail resulting in the contamination of the surface water and aquifer. This has happened at many mining operations.
Being a giant corporation, the Republicans are obviously on board with the plans. Sadly, because of the (short term) economic impact, many Democrats are as well.
Several dozen groups have organized to resist the mining operation. One of them is the Fond Du Lac Band (Lake Superior Chippewa (Ojibwe) ). They have been involved in legal action which has stalled the progress of the mining operation for several years.
Now the water treatment plant for Fond Du Lac has been declared out of compliance by the state and they need a new one at a cost of $1.3 million. As part of the funding package the band asked the IRRRB for a $250,000 grant.
(note: the IRRRB is the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board. When mining in Minnesota became a big business it was realized that at some point in the future the ore would play out, leaving the area facing an economic downturn. A tax on the extracted ore was imposed to collect money to fund infrastructure and alternative economic growth across the region. Such a large kettle of money of course draws corruption, but that is a different kettle of fish)
At the recent IRRRB meeting the request was tabled (stalled).
Board member Tom Bakk (DFL_Cook) said:
“I’m pretty uncomfortable with this request. I mean, I’d like to do something for this part of the Taconite Relief Area because we don’t get many requests, but I can’t remember us ever doing a grant to a local unit of government that is publicly anti-mining.”
(full disclosure, my skidmark of a Republican representative uttered similar drivel.)
(Technically Minnesota doesn’t have a Democratic Party. In 1944 the Minnesota Democratic Party and the Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party merged into the Democratic Farmer Labor Party = DFL. Brownie points to you if you can name the other state that does not have a Democratic Party)
Mining in the northland is seen in a good light. It provided good paying jobs for a long time and the excavation technique didn’t produce black lung disease or toxic waste, only mountains of taconite tailings (another kettle of fish). But this acid mining technique is different and many people don’t realize the long term ramifications. Because of a couple of decades of good paying jobs several DFL politicians, like Bakk, (and maybe Klobuchar) are on board.
The charter of the IRRRB didn’t say anything about the political leanings of those entities to be helped, and it is stunning to see a bipartisan government officials (the Republicans are all for the denial to Fond Du Lac, naturally) come out and say we don’t like your politics so we won’t help. Unless you stop interfering with our foreign corporate friends attempts to poison the Boundary Waters for profit.
The basic plan:
Mine ore near the Boundary Waters for 20 years.
Siphon the profits through Twin Metals to Antofagasta Chile.
When the mine plays out take Twin Metals through bankruptcy and walk away,
Leaving Minnesota and the US taxpayers with a toxic superfund site that will cost billions.
Bluestem Prairie has done coverage on the issue.
Apparently she has a video of the meeting.
www.bluestemprairie.com/…
Many environmental groups have been fighting the mining operation.
earthworks.org/…
silentsportsmagazine.com/…
The official site of the IRRRB
mn.gov/…
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This decision was so ham handed and wrong headed I expect the public backlash to force them to reconsider. Assuming the daily tsunami’s of Trumpcrap don’t drown out the smaller stories.
But come on guys, what are Democrats doing on the wrong side of clean water?
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And you had better believe that the right wing is all for helping corporations make bigger profits.
Judge Trevor McFadden (Trump appointee 2017, Federalist Society) helps Antofagasta move forward. (march, 2020)
www.bizjournals.com/...