Volunteers mark the spot where a 10-foot diameter,
½-mile deep test shaft will be drilled.
Update - 06/12/2006: The shaft construction has been
postponed until completion of an extensive drilling program
and feasibility level metallurgical tests.
Birch Lake outing to view proposed sulfide mine site
The Birch Lake Cross Country Ski Outing on January 14th was a lot of fun. We skied in to the proposed mine site, fired up the propane stove for hot cocoa, and talked about the details of the project; what it means for the local natural environment and community of people who use the lake, as well as the effects this project may have on the BWCA, downstream.
The project is the first of two sulfide mine sites proposed in Minnesota, which is far more dangerous to the environment than taconite mining. The waste rock is likely to generate sulfuric acid drainage, lethal to critters at the bottom of the food chain in the Kawishiwi River that flows into the BWCA Wilderness. Plans are in place to create a ten foot diameter test shaft next summer that goes down ½ mile into the earth. [Update - 06/12/2006: The shaft construction has been postponed until completion of an extensive drilling program and feasibility level metallurgical tests.] More than 20 acres of 50+ year old mixed forest will be bulldozed just for this test project. The awareness of the mine site was very important. In the pictures here, volunteers hold up signs spelling the word "BEFORE" standing behind the "X" marking the drilling spot.
If you would like to help with this effort, or would like more information about the Mining Without Harm Campaign in NE Minnesota, email .
