Crandon Mine Update, Wisconsin

In 1998, the Wisconsin legislature passed the “Churchill” Moratorium bill. Act 171 requires a mining company, seeking a permit, to show an example of a metallic sulfide mine that has operated for 10 years without polluting surface or ground water from the mine or its tailings. It must also show a mine that has been closed for 10 years without polluting surface or ground water.

Mining giant BHP-Billiton, through its subsidiary Nicolet Minerals Co., attempted to bypass the moratorium. Located south of Crandon, the 55 million ton zinc, copper and lead deposit, first discovered by Exxon Minerals has been stalled by massive citizen opposition since 1976. The company cited the Sacaton Mine, in Casa Grande, Arizona, the Cullaton mine in the Nunavut Territory, Canada, and the McLaughlin mine in Lower Lake, California.[1]

By April, 2003, as the examples proved unable to pass scrutiny under Wisconsin law, BHP sold NMC and its surface and mineral rights for the project to Northern Wisconsin Resource Group, a subsidiary of Nicolet Hardwood Corp.

On October 28, 2003, the Mole Lake Sokaogon Chippewa and the Forest County Potawatomi Tribes purchased NMC and the lands associated with the proposed project site, ending the 27 year fight between the citizens of Wisconsin and the world’s most powerful mining companies. Two days later, WDNR received a letter from the company announcing its intention to withdraw its permit applications:

“Some of the engineering features proposed in this application have never been tried in a project of this size, in an area enveloped by such vast quantities of pristine and irreplaceable water resources….most of the proposed pollution prevention technology for this project has eventually failed over the long term….given the number of sulfide mines that have caused catastrophic water pollution in North America and the lack of reliable data to suggest that modern sulfide mining technology has improved sufficiently to justify taking the risks, that this project poses, it is doubtful that NMC could, in good faith, meet its burden of proof under the Wisconsin Mining Moratorium Law. For these and other reasons, NMC has decided to withdraw its pending mining permit application….”[2]

1 Forest County Potawatomi Community, “Second ‘Model Mine’ Fails Moratorium Test, Potawatomi Say,” Press Release, April 24, 2003

2 Nicolet Minerals, Letter to E. Kluesner, Wisconsin DNR, October 28, 2003

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