Eagle mine project

Last updated

Eagle Mine
Location
USA Michigan location map.svg
Schlaegel und Eisen nach DIN 21800.svg
Eagle Mine
Location of mine in Michigan
Location Michigamme Township, Marquette County
StateMichigan
CountryUnited States
Coordinates 46°44′47″N87°52′50″W / 46.74639°N 87.88056°W / 46.74639; -87.88056 Coordinates: 46°44′47″N87°52′50″W / 46.74639°N 87.88056°W / 46.74639; -87.88056
Production
ProductsCopper, nickel
Owner
Company Lundin Mining
Website www.lundinmining.com/operations/eagle/

The Eagle Mine is a small, high-grade nickel mining and copper mining project owned by Lundin Mining. The mine is located on the Yellow Dog Plains in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the United States. Eagle is the only primary nickel mining project in the United States. The mine began production in fall 2014 and is expected to produce 360 million pounds of nickel, 295 million pounds of copper and small amounts of other metals (platinum, palladium, silver, gold, and cobalt) over its eight-year mine life.

Lundin Mining Corporation is a mining company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada with operations in the United States, Sweden, Portugal, and Chile. Mines owned by the company include the Neves-Corvo mine, Galmoy Mine, Eagle mine project, and the Candelaria mine. In 2018, the company produced 200,000 tons of copper, 152,000 tons of zinc, and 17,000 tons of nickel.

Yellow Dog Plains

The Yellow Dog Plains is an area north and west of Marquette, Michigan, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, United States. The Yellow Dog River flows through it, as does the Salmon Trout River. The Salmon Trout River is unique in that it has a breeding population of coasters, a potamodramous form of brook trout. Coasters are virtually extinct from their native range on the south coast of Lake Superior, except for the Salmon Trout River. The Yellow Dog Plains is a remote and virtually untouched wilderness, aside from large scale logging operations. There are extensive forests of Eastern white pine, with reports of some of the trees in the Yellow Dog Plains reaching heights of 31 meters.

Upper Peninsula of Michigan Northern major peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan

The Upper Peninsula (UP), also known as Upper Michigan, is the northern of the two major peninsulas that make up the U.S. state of Michigan. The peninsula is bounded on the north by Lake Superior, on the east by the St. Marys River, and on the south by Lake Michigan, the Straits of Mackinac, and Lake Huron. Topographically, the base of the Upper Peninsula as a geologic feature lies in northeastern Wisconsin between the base of the Door Peninsula and Superior Bay; but in political geography, because most of the peninsula is within the boundaries of Michigan, it is measured eastward from the Porcupine Mountains, from the Wisconsin-Michigan boundary along and between the Montreal and Menominee rivers.

Contents

Overview

Eagle is a decline-accessed underground mine, primarily utilizing long hole stoping for production. Interest in the project both locally and statewide had increased due to the submission of a mining permit application for the project. The project has garnered local opposition as well as support. The opposition groups claim that the mine will produce environmental damage, while supporters and the company claim the mine will protect the environment while producing much-needed jobs.

Surface construction at the mine started in 2010, with underground construction taking place in 2011. Production commenced in September 2014 ahead of schedule and on budget. The surface facilities for the mine will cover less than 130 acres (53 ha), and ore processing will be done off site at the nearby Humboldt Mill. The mine will be backfilled as mining progresses. Once mining ceases both facilities will be reclaimed to their natural state.

The ore deposit contains 4.1 million metric tons of rock containing 3.6 percent nickel and 2.9 percent copper. The economic minerals associated with this deposit are predominantly pentlandite and chalcopyrite.

Some Native Americans believe that the mine site is sacred. Several groups protested the development of the mine. [1]

Permitting

On July 30, 2007, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) re-issued preliminary approval for the mining permit. The permit was initially approved in January 2007, however it was found that the DEQ failed to release documents relating to the crown pillar of the mine. As a result, the preliminary approval was withdrawn and the permit process was put on hold until the issue could be further investigated. The resulting investigation cleared the DEQ of any wrongdoing and the consideration of the permit application was able to proceed.

On December 14, 2007, the DEQ announced that it would issue permits for mining to take place at the Eagle project. DEQ Director Steven Chester said: "In the end, Kennecott's proposal met the high standard set by Michigan's environmental laws." [2]

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) issued a Surface Use Lease to Kennecott on February 7, granting use of a parcel of state land for surface facilities to be associated with the mine. The same four petitioners also filed suit in Ingham Circuit Court challenging the DNR decision to grant the lease.

Michigan Department of Natural Resources

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the agency of the state of Michigan charged with maintaining natural resources such as state parks, state forests, and recreation areas. It is governed by a director appointed by the Governor and accepted by the Natural Resources Commission. Currently the Director is Keith Creagh. The DNR has about 1,400 permanent employees, and over 1,600 seasonal employees.

Kennecott also submitted an application for an Underground Injection Control permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its proposed disposal system for treated wastewater. The EPA has not indicated a timeframe for acting on the application.

The DNR Surface Use Lease is not effective until final approval is granted for all other required permits, i.e., until such time as the EPA grants a permit and any administrative appeals of the DEQ and EPA permits are decided. However, Kennecott has the right in the meantime to begin construction of some surface facilities on land the company owns. [3]

Contested case hearing

"The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) issued a Mining Permit, Air Use Permit, and Groundwater Discharge Permit to Kennecott Eagle Minerals Company (Kennecott) for the Eagle Project mine on December 14, 2007. The National Wildlife Federation, Huron Mountain Club, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, and Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve filed administrative appeals contesting the issuance of the Mining Permit and Groundwater Discharge Permit on December 21. Kennecott has been granted intervener status in the contested case. The case was scheduled to be heard by an administrative law judge beginning on April 28, 2008. Under contested case procedures, the law judge hears the case and submits a proposal for decision to the DEQ Director, who then makes the final DEQ decision. The four petitioners also filed a lawsuit in Ingham Circuit Court contesting issuance of the Air Use Permit." [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

First Quantum Minerals company

First Quantum Minerals Ltd. is a Canadian based mining and metals company whose principal activities include mineral exploration, development and mining. Its main product is copper, which accounts for 80% of revenues. as of 2016.

Kennecott Utah Copper

Kennecott Utah Copper LLC (KUC), a division of Rio Tinto Group, is a mining, smelting, and refining company. Its corporate headquarters are located in South Jordan, Utah, USA. Kennecott operates the Bingham Canyon Mine, one of the largest open-pit copper mines in the world in Bingham Canyon, Salt Lake County, Utah. The company was first formed in 1898 as the Boston Consolidated Mining Company. The current corporation was formed in 1989. The mine and associated smelter produce 1% of the world's copper.

Antofagasta plc is a Chilean business that operates in various sectors of the economy. It is one of the most important conglomerates of Chile with equity participation in Antofagasta Minerals, the railroad from Antofagasta to Bolivia, Twin Metals in Minnesota and other exploration joint ventures in different parts from the world.

Crandon mine was a mine proposed for northeastern Wisconsin, USA. It was to be situated near the town of Crandon and the Mole Lake Ojibwe Reservation in Forest County. The mine was the center of a multi-decade political and regulatory battle between environmentalists, American Indian tribes, sportfishing groups, and the State of Wisconsin and several large mining corporations. The purchase of the mine site in 2003 by the Sokaogon Ojibwe and Forest County Potawatomi marked a major victory for the tribes and environmental activists, and raised questions about the future of mining, economics, and tribal power in Wisconsin.

Bingham Canyon Mine Copper mine in Utah, United States

The Bingham Canyon Mine, more commonly known as Kennecott Copper Mine among locals, is an open-pit mining operation extracting a large porphyry copper deposit southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah, in the Oquirrh Mountains. The mine is the largest man-made excavation in the world and is considered to have produced more copper than any other mine in history – more than 19 million tons. The mine is owned by Rio Tinto Group, a British-Australian multinational corporation. The copper operations at Bingham Canyon Mine are managed through Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation which operates the mine, a concentrator plant, a smelter, and a refinery. The mine has been in production since 1906, and has resulted in the creation of a pit over 0.6 miles (970 m) deep, 2.5 miles (4 km) wide, and covering 1,900 acres. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966 under the name Bingham Canyon Open Pit Copper Mine. The mine experienced a massive landslide in April 2013 and a smaller slide in September 2013.

Pebble Mine Place in Alaska, United States

Pebble Mine is the common name of a mineral exploration project investigating a very large porphyry copper, gold, and molybdenum mineral deposit in the Bristol Bay region of Southwest Alaska, near Lake Iliamna and Lake Clark. The proposal to mine the ore deposit using large-scale operations and infrastructure is controversial. Proponents argue that the mine will create jobs, provide tax revenue to the state of Alaska, and reduce American dependence on foreign sources of raw materials. Opponents argue that the mine would adversely affect the entire Bristol Bay watershed; and that the possible consequences to fish populations, when mining effluents escape planned containments, are simply too great of a risk. Much of this debate concerns the tentative plan to impound large amounts of water, waste rock, and mine tailings behind several earthen dams at the mine site. The project is on hold after the loss of funding partners in 2013.

Comet, Montana Ghost town in Montana, United States

Comet is a ghost town located about twenty miles south-southwest of Helena, Montana, United States. It is reached by following High Ore Road north from Interstate 15. The remains of the town cover about thirty-five acres and consist of an ore hopper, a large ore processing building, several other company buildings, and numerous houses and other private structures. High Ore Creek runs through the center of the property and separates the mine buildings from the town proper. The town is abandoned except for a single active residence; although it sits on private grazing land, it is open to public access.

Copper mining in the United States

Copper mining in the United States has been a major industry since the rise of the northern Michigan copper district in the 1840s. In 2017 the United States produced 1.27 million metric tonnes of copper, worth $8 billion, making it the world's fourth largest copper producer, after Chile, China, and Peru. Copper was produced from 23 mines in the US. Top copper producing states in 2014 were Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, and Montana. Minor production also came from Idaho, and Missouri. As of 2014, the US had 45 million tonnes of known remaining reserves of copper, the fifth largest known copper reserves in the world, after Chile, Australia, Peru, and Mexico.

Copper mining in Michigan

Copper mining in Michigan became an important industry in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Its rise marked the start of copper mining as a major industry in the United States.

In situ leach

In-situ leaching (ISL), also called in-situ recovery (ISR) or solution mining, is a mining process used to recover minerals such as copper and uranium through boreholes drilled into a deposit, in situ. In situ leach works by artificially dissolving minerals occurring naturally in a solid state. For recovery of material occurring naturally in solution, see: Brine mining.

Juneau mining district Alaska Mining District

The Juneau mining district is a gold mining area in the U.S. state of Alaska.

Kayenta Mine

The Kayenta mine is a surface coal mine operated by Peabody Western Coal Company on the Navajo Nation in northern Arizona. About 400 acres are mined and reclaimed each year, providing about 8 million tons of coal annually to the Navajo Generating Station.

County Road 595 (Marquette County, Michigan) proposed county road in Michigan

County Road 595 is a proposed primary county road in Marquette County in the US state of Michigan. The road would provide access from the northern part of the county, near the Eagle Mine in Michigamme Township, to US Highway 41 (US 41) and M-28 in Humboldt Township. The approximately 21.5-mile-long (34.6 km) road would be used primarily for commercial truck traffic hauling rock from the Eagle Mine to a processing facility south of US 41/M-28 in Humboldt Township. At present, such traffic has to use existing county roads which involves passing through the cities of Marquette, Negaunee, and Ishpeming. The northern end would be northeast of the mine in Champion Township at an intersection with the Triple A Road.

Rosemont Copper Place in Arizona, United States

Rosemont Copper is the name of a proposed new and large open pit copper mine project pursued by the Canadian mining corporation Hudbay Minerals. It is in a permitting review process under the direction of the United States Forest Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The project site is located within the Santa Rita Mountains and Coronado National Forest, in Pima County of southern Arizona.

The NorthMet Deposit is a deposit of minerals located in northeastern Minnesota contained within the geological region known as the Duluth Complex. The minerals contained in the deposit include copper, nickel, platinum, silver, palladium, and titanium.

The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) founded in 1973, is a Wyoming state agency to protect, conserve and enhance the environment of Wyoming "through a combination of monitoring, permitting, inspection, enforcement and restoration/remediation activities". It consists of 6 divisions and since 1992, the Environmental Quality Council (EQC), a separate operating agency of 7 governor-appointed members.

Industrial stormwater is runoff from precipitation that lands on industrial sites. This runoff is often polluted by materials that are handled or stored on the sites, and the facilities are subject to regulations to control the discharges.

Ridgeway Mine

The Ridgeway mine was a gold and silver open-pit mine near Ridgeway, South Carolina and operated by the Ridgeway Mining Company, a division of Kennecott Minerals, itself a division of Rio Tinto. It produced 1.5 million ounces of gold and 0.9 million ounces of silver in its eleven years of operation between 1988 and 1999 and was the only active gold mine in the eastern United States for most of its life. The mine's two ore bodies are part of the gold-rich Carolina Slate Belt rock package that runs through the upstate Piedmont foothills.

References

  1. Pepin, John (April 25, 2010). "Native American activists protest at Eagle Rock". The Mining Journal. Marquette, MI.
  2. McCann, Robert (December 14, 2007). "DEQ Announces Decision on Kennecott Mine" (PDF) (Press release). Michigan Department of Environmental Quality . Retrieved November 5, 2008.
  3. 1 2 Staff. "Kennecott Eagle Project". Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. Retrieved November 5, 2008.