IT’S BUSINESS AS USUAL!

IT’S BUSINESS AS USUAL!

(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

(Frazer Chronicle)

 

The conservatives are at it again, and yes, it is business as usual, I point to a proposal sponsored by Wisconsin Senator Tom Tiffany, (R-Hazelhurst) that would shut off public access to a proposed iron mine site in northern Wisconsin while maintaining most of the land owners’ current property tax breaks.

 

The tax break is the least of the problems that I see with regards to the question of access by the public to private land. Wisconsin state government does afford tax abatement to private land owners IF the owner allows the state to manage the land for forestry and allows the public to hunt, fish and hike on it.

 

Gogebic Taconite, a mining company from Florida owns the mining rights on hundreds of acres on the private land in question, which covers more than four miles near Ashland, Wisconsin. The proposed bill would allow Gogebic Taconite to close the land to any and all public access. The restricted area would be in force until state officials decide on a possible mining site permit. Also under the proposal the landowner would have his property tax break reduced on the closed land, at least until mining activity began.

 

There has been strong opposition from protesters as the mining company began the exploration phase of its operation on what they consider the ore body area. Seismic activity and bore holing (a process where a hollow drill bit retrieves hundreds of feet of core samples) has already been done. It is a foregone conclusion that there is considerable low-grade iron ore on the properties in question, and actually the next step for the mining company is to began to establish an open pit facility.

 

THEIR OWN WORST ENEMY

Protesters can be, and usually are their own worst enemies; it takes just a few unruly combatants to act…..well, like combatants, to throw a peaceful demonstration into a yelling, obscenity laced confrontation where the message gets completely lost in the scuffle…..and that is actually what a mining company wants.

 

The protesters play right into the hands of the mining companies, the media has already been called in by the protesting organizers to publicize their effort…..and the opposite inevitably happens. I’ve seen it, I’ve read about it…..and to tell you the truth, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if the mining companies don’t actually place some of their own people in the protester’s ranks to stir up trouble.

 

Those folks that do protest to mining activity, if their reasoning is based on fact and history, do have a valid reason to object to a mining project in a pristine area. Sadly most mineral sites are smack dab in the middle of an environmentally precarious area. The word pristine is an overused word by the environmental crowd, cold hard facts and a look at history would service these environment groups much better than words.

 

The facts, and the figures are easily accessed, and can be presented on any computer for use by anybody, and the best part is…..the facts and figures are understandable for anybody who cares to search. I have a bit of a leg up on the average person because I did enough research to write a book about the iron mining history of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

 

 

 

I guess my only comment to these people who feel the need to protest would be that they should carefully screen their legions for interlopers; it happens…..I guarantee that it does. Your cause is just, your concerns well founded. A course of action would be necessary, and whichever course is taken, there should be no deviation.

 

HISTORY, THE ELEMENTS, THE PUBLIC, AND OFFICIALS ARE AGAINST YOU

The area of the state of Wisconsin that is in question with regards to open pit iron mining is not new to controversy, and questions about what mining does to the environment as well as the people that make their home in the area.

 

Iron mining in Wisconsin first opened up in the 1880’s, and there have been some truly huge mining operations that met with much financial success, Two that come to mind are the Cary and the Montreal mines near Montreal, Wisconsin.

 

Both were huge producers, employed thousands of people and were the identifying employer of the region for close to a hundred years. You can’t miss the spot where the Montreal Mine was located, its waste rock piles can be seen from Highway 77. They are a couple hundred feet in height, cover hundreds of acres, and the ramshackle mining buildings still dot the landscape.

 

The Cary Mine today is home to a soft drink company, the old mining offices, and shaft-house serve as warehouse and offices. The old shaft is still accessible in a corner of the warehouse, and is filled to within 20 or so feet of the concrete floor.

 

My point in relating to these old mining sites is simple, both took millions of ton of iron ore out of the ground, in fact the Montreal had the world’s deepest iron mine shaft in 1963, 4,734’ when it closed down. That was the upside, the employment, the good pay, and the ton of iron ore, the downside was…..well to a degree you’d have to visit Montreal to get a clearer picture.

 

There are parts of the village of Montreal that can’t be used, will never be used, there are streams that are either gone or have had their paths altered to accommodate a mining operation. There are also parts of Montreal that you can’t even walk through, that’s how unstable the ground has become.

 

Mining defined the employment of the border towns of Montreal, Wisconsin and Ironwood, Michigan for well over 50 years. Although the work was dangerous, the pay was good and thousands of families lived their lives in the mining country.

 

There has been and always will be pressure exerted on a business community, and on the civilian population to allow mining projects to circumvent the rules and regulations of an area for the betterment of the financial environment, and the enrichment of its inhabitants.

 

However in the end, as it was a hundred years ago, (the mining companies came to town with suitcases full of money, dug their holes in the ground, extracted the ores…..and when they were done, they left, leaving the people without work, and their kids falling into the holes that were left.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WHAT CAN BE DONE

First and foremost any protester or group that feels the need to voice their dissent needs to school themselves on the issues. Find out what can, and often happens to the ground water, where will the waste rock be stored, (one ton of Taconite ore takes five or six ton of rock to produce.) Will surface roads be upgraded, and who pays, what happens to mining buildings after their use is no longer needed. And most importantly, how will the water be protected from the rigors of the process of producing Taconite?

 

Do not allow legislators to bull-rush laws or amendments through Wisconsin’s state house, take your Senators and Representative to task on ever single issue regarding a mining site…..and lastly, enlist the help of your kids, and make them aware of the issues, cause the fight…..and make no mistake, it is a fight, will last after your death.

 

Mining companies do not go away, the lure of money that can be derived from Mother Earth is intoxicating, and these business people, these mining companies, and all the business and money that goes along with the effort is of course like a drug…..a drug that they all need.

 

And if establishing a mining site takes fifty, seventy five, or a hundred years it’ll be okay, their kids, kids, grandkids will reap the benefits of the strike. With that fact uppermost in your collective minds…..continue the fight.

 

HAVE A NICE DAY!