Sulfide Mining The Threat to Over 100 acres of Beautiful Upper Peninsula Public Land
Kennecott Eagle Minerals Company wants to mine nickel and copper in the Yellow Dog Plains, one of Michigan’s most beautiful wild areas in northern Marquette County. They want to dig their mine shaft into publicly-owned Eagle Rock, and fence off over 100 acres of public land for 35 years or more.
Sulfide mining is brand new to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Unlike historical ore-based mining, sulfide mining extracts nickel, copper, and other precious metals from the sulfide-rich rock compounds. This extraction process releases the sulfur, which in turn creates sulfuric acid when it comes in contact with water and air. The sulfuric acid dissolves toxic heavy metals such as copper, mercury, and lead which then contaminate rivers, lakes, and ground water in the form of Acid Mind Drainage (AMD). To date, there is no technology proven to be effective at preventing AMD, making sulfide mining unsafe and extremely hazardous to people and the environment.
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Save the Wild UP Comprehensive background and indepth coverage of all aspects of the issue from an organization on the front lines.
