Mining interests eye a return to Upper Peninsula

MARQUETTE, Mich. -- Like much of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Marquette was built on mining. Thousands of Irish, German, Polish, Italian, and other immigrants arrived in the late 1800s and early 1900s to forge new lives in the copper and iron mines.

As mines closed during the mid-1900s and many residents fled to the auto industry in Detroit, the town and the region struggled.

Now, thanks to rapidly rising metal prices, international mining companies are again interested in the Upper Peninsula. A subsidiary of industry giant Rio Tinto wants to open the country's largest nickel mine about 25 miles from Marquette, and various companies are prospecting for copper, nickel, uranium, and other materials.

One would think they would be welcomed with open arms. Think again.

The region has moved on. Tourism built on activities such as hunting, fishing, mountain biking, snowmobiling, skiing, and kayaking has become its economic mainstay. Many residents say they don't want this greener economy sullied by mining.

In Big Bay, a quaint, woodsy town 7 miles from the proposed nickel mine, windows sport hand-lettered anti mining signs and "No Sulfide Mining" is painted in large letters on the slouching hulk of an old barn.

Environmentalists are especially concerned about the proposed nickel mine, known as the Eagle Project and run by Kennecott Minerals Co., since it would tap into sulfide ore bodies, which, when exposed to air, produce sulfuric acid as a byproduct.

The proposed mine is also 4 miles from the Huron Mountain Club, a private wilderness reserve where 50 families have vacation homes amid old-growth forest dotted with lakes and the Salmon Trout River, home to the rare coaster brook trout.

"This area is so sufficiently unusual, precious, and delicate that the mine should not be located here," said Peter Dykema, a Washington lawyer and sixth-generation club member. "We're not against mining -- the world needs nickel and Michigan needs jobs. But it shouldn't be here."

Kennecott project manager Jon Cherry said the mine would operate for about eight years and would be cleaned up a few years past that. He said potentially acid-producing waste would be contained in a double-lined pad and water quality would be restored.

But environmentalists say accidents are bound to happen.

"Nothing is totally leakproof," said Sierra Club forest ecologist Marvin Roberson. "One bad winter runoff could contaminate the stream and kill off all the coasters."

"I don't see anything good coming out of this, but I see the potential for a lot of harm," said Gary Cook, Huron Mountain Club security director.

Still, many residents see the mine as an economic opportunity that the area would be foolish to pass up.