Conservation Minnesota has joined Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness and the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA) to form the Mining Truth Coalition. Our goal is to engage all Minnesotans – including mining companies, non-profit organizations, businesses, policy makers and private citizens – in a respectful, open, fact-based dialogue about the issue. Mining Truth recognizes this issue is controversial, emotional and has far-reaching implications, but believes the best outcome will be achieved when all voices are heard.
Please take a minute to read about the campaign and visit miningtruth.org to learn more.
What is it/What are you trying to do?
- Mining Truth is a campaign to encourage Minnesotans to learn more about sulfide mining.
- Sulfide mining is a controversial issue facing all Minnesotans – but most of us don’t even know it’s happening.
- Our goal is to engage all Minnesotans – including mining companies, non-profit organizations, businesses, policy makers and private citizens – in a respectful, open, fact-based dialogue about sulfide mining.
- Everyone needs to know the facts before making a decision about these proposed mines.
- There are two sulfide mines proposed – one near Lake Superior and one near the Boundary Waters.
- Sulfide mining produces valuable metals, but its byproducts include sulfuric acid and toxic contaminants.
- This toxic waste could irreversibly damage our fragile lakes, rivers and natural resources in the heart of Lake Superior and the BWCA.
- This is a complex issue with long-term implications. We want to help Minnesotans learn the facts and join the conversation so we can make a thoughtful decision for our state’s future.
- To learn more, you can visit miningtruth.org where you’ll find the Truth Report – a resource guide that pulls together third-party data and research about sulfide mining.
Why is this important?
- This is not your grandfather’s iron ore mine. We should be proud of our mining past, but we have to be smart about our future.
- Sulfide mining has never been done in Minnesota. Based on its track record in other parts of the country and globally, there are serious risks to consider.
- Toxic pollution has happened at every sulfide mine in the world to date.
- The proposed Minnesota mines put Lake Superior and the BWCA at risk. These natural resources are finite and fragile.
- They attract $1.6 billion in annual tourism and recreation dollars in northeastern Minnesota.
- In other states, the clean up bill for sulfide mines is in the billions of dollars, creating a major taxpayer liability.
I think mining of sulfides in Minnesota should not proceed forward. When is the natural environment going to become more important than money. We are not the only living things on the planet and we need to respect everything that lives here. Kill the mining and restore the landscape. Mother Earth is sick of being butchered up.
Once people are made aware of this I bet they will be against it. The amount of jobs this project would create is around 400 but it will not only damage our lakes and wildlife but it will kill tourist revenue.
How close is this to becoming a reality in Minnesota?
Who are the legislators we need to contact?
Are there petitions to sign?
Once the landscape and the wildlife are gone the tourists will also be gone. A lot more jobs and livelihoods will be lost because of the loss of tourism than the loss of these supposed 400 jobs that will be produced by the mining. It would destroy the way of life for many people. Also, who wants to go Up North and look at a mine? If we continue to rape Minnesota it will become just another piece of land instead of the special state that it currently is. Do we have to destroy everything for the sake of big business? Sulfite Mining is NOT right for Minnesota.
We do have an online petition set up for this issue. You can fill it out at https://secure2.convio.net/mnlcv/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=307
Put me down as a NO for sulfice mining. While I am willing to listen to the other side I do not think the track record for a sulfide mine anywhere is acceptable.
The copper and nickel isn’t going anywhere. Once the mining companies prove beyond any doubt that sulfide mining can be done without damaging the nearby water resources, they can come back and propose a project near the BWCA or Lake Superior. And, as a demonstration of good faith, the mining companies should undertake a serious effort to clean up some of the mess they’ve made in other places.