FROM THE QUETICO SUPERIOR FOUNDATION SPRING 2013 Wilderness QUETICO SUPERIOR COUNTRY News Should we Dig? Proposed mining projects in lands adjacent to the BWCAW stir controversy Page 3 INSIDE: Northern Board Member The Listening Tier High Profile Corner: Adventure Page 12 Meet Shelby Program Gonzales Page 9 Page 14 The Quetico Superior Foundation, established in 1946, encourages and supports the protection of the wilderness, cultural and historical resources of the Quetico-Superior canoe country and region. www.wildernessnews.org LETTER FROM THE BOARD PRESIDENT Together, We’re Making QUETICO SUPERIOR COUNTRY a Difference The Quetico Superior Foundation, established in In this issue of Wilderness News, you’ll find the names of more than 1946, encourages and 200 readers who have made financial contributions to this newsletter—it’s our way of saying thank you. Your financial supports the protection of contributions do so much more than support Wilderness News. They the wilderness, cultural and help us continue and expand our granting efforts. historical resources of the Quetico-Superior canoe In 2012, the Quetico Superior Foundation awarded grants that helped country and region. commemorate the history of the Quetico-Superior region and raise awareness about the issues unfolding there today. We helped the Ernest Oberholtzer Foundation undertake a commemorative tour of the communities Ernest visited during his epic 1912 journey from Winnipeg to Hudson Bay and back. The Friends of the Boundary Wilderness News Waters Wilderness raised public awareness on the sulfide mining Published by the Quetico Superior issues in the region, and they secured the 2013 Sigurd Olson Lecture Foundation Series, which provides free lectures on natural resource issues. We James C. Wyman, President look forward to bringing you more information on these grants in Charles A. Kelly, Vice President the coming year. Andrew G. Steiner, Secretary Walter E. Pratt, Assistant Secretary Dodd B. Cosgrove, Treasurer In this issue, you’ll find an update on copper and nickel mining, get a Directors glimpse of life at Charles L. Sommers Canoe Base in Ely, MN, and meet James D. Alt Walter E. Pratt a young writer who has dedicated her career to inspiring people to Jonathan S. Bishop Jake Ritchie get outdoors. We hope you’re inspired and informed, and that you’ll John P. Case R. Newell Searle Dodd B. Cosgrove Eleanor W. Smith continue to support us as we work to preserve the history, culture, Meghan Cosgrove Andrew G. Steiner and character of a treasured region. Stewart F. Crosby Dyke Van Etten Williams Emilie Hitch Frederick Winston Charles A. Kelly James C. Wyman Wilderness News is published, in part, with a Sincerely, contribution from the Andrews-Hunt Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation. Jim Wyman Board President, Quetico Superior Foundation Design: Eaton & Associates Design Company Printed on 100% recycled paper with soy-based inks Contact us at: On the Cover: Quetico Superior Foundation [email protected] A Duluth Metals exploration drill rig, located off Highway 1, near the South Kawishiwi River. Photo courtesy Greg Seitz. www.queticosuperior.org Tell us what you think and keep up with canoe country issues: http://www.facebook.com/WildernessNews 2 WILDERNESS NEWS SPRING 2013 . wildernessnews.org SPECIAL FEATURE: Voyageurs National Park CANADA Quetico Provincial Park 53 Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Ely Vermilion Lake Twin Metals 1 Twin Metals Grand Marais Babbitt 169 Watershed Boundary PolyMet Mining Co. Isabella 135 Tofte Virginia Hoyt Lakes 1 Hibbing Lake Superior 1:1,000,000 Silver Bay Updated 2/13/2013 02.55 10 15 20 Miles Potential Mining Sites MINNESOTA 53 Roads Proposed 2013 State Mineral Leases State and Federal Mineral Leasing and Exploration Two Harbors Watershed Boundary Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Superior National Forest Sulfide Mining Activity in Northeastern Minnesota. Map courtesy Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness. Mining Update By Greg Seitz The Twin Metals copper mine proposal has been described by supporters as an “underground city,” a “juggernaut,” a “monster deposit,” and possibly the “largest mine in Minnesota history.” Opponents talk about the short-term proposed gains versus the long-term environmental damage of the mine; mining’s history of “boom, then bust” in Minnesota; and ask what, if any, price should be put on preserving our state’s largest and most beloved natural area, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. wildernessnews.org . WILDERNESS NEWS SPRING 2013 3 The conversation has taken on new The gigantic scale of the proposal, the pollution that urgency recently, as the company is plagues this form of mining, and its location next door to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness are con- progressing rapidly on developing a full- cerns for many. The mine’s potential for job creation and fledged proposal and moving toward tax dollars is gaining support. And a lot of people—from environmental review. Minnesotans are wilderness paddlers to U.S. Senators—are still trying to figure out how concerned or supportive they should be. now confronted with one of the biggest environmental debates our state has Building momentum seen since the 1970s. For the past three years, Twin Metals has been making rapid progress. In 2010, it was born out of a deal that gave Antofagasta a 40 percent stake in the project, with the op- Meet the new neighbors tion to purchase another 25 percent share, for significant Twin Metals’ potential mine site is located about three financial support. So far, the Chilean company has pledged miles from the South Kawishiwi River and Little Gabbro $130 million for mine development. Lake entry points to the Boundary Waters. A year later, Twin Metals acquired Franconia Miner- The project is moving forward rapidly, but is still at als, which had been exploring for a possible mine nearby, least five years from digging, with exploratory drilling un- most of it located underneath Birch Lake, a few miles fur- derway. The company controls roughly 32,000 acres of ther from the BWCAW than the primary deposit. Twin land in northern Minnesota, and has drill rigs taking core Metals’ combined holdings now include an estimated 13.7 samples to map the deposit, understand the economic po- billion pounds of copper, 4.4 billion pounds of nickel and tential, and inform the mine design. 21.2 million ounces of palladium, platinum and gold. The targeted area straddles Highway 1 along the South Fueled by the potential of its holdings, the company Kawishiwi River and Birch Lake, about 10 miles southeast set down roots in Ely by opening a field office in town, of Ely. A partnership between Canadian junior mining making donations to the community’s food shelf and company Duluth Metals and Chilean mining conglomer- sponsoring Little League baseball teams. ate Antofagasta PLC, the mine would seek to extract nearly In October 2011, Twin Metals embarked on a prefea- 14 billion pounds of copper, as well as nickel, platinum, sibility study, a multi-year project to evaluate possible mine palladium and gold. designs, environmental impacts, infrastructure needs, and Twin Metals would dig tunnels more than 3,000 feet other aspects. It selected Bechtel Mining & Metals, part of below the surface to extract these metals. Based on today’s a larger firm based in San Francisco and a previous part- high demand for electronics, like cell phones and iPads, ner with Antofagasta, to lead the study. and also wind turbines and hybrid vehicle fuel cells, all of The choice of firms was controversial, however. Ac- which use copper and other metals, this enormous under- cording to the Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness, taking could be economically feasible. Bechtel has been associated with mines in New Guinea which dump millions of gallons of toxic waste into local streams, and a pipeline project in New Hampshire which was fined $90,000 for violating environmental laws and dumping sediment into streams and wetlands. A March 2012 story in the Ely Echo highlighted a lead- ing design possibility that would include a five-mile-long tunnel which descends into the mine from near Babbitt, MN. Trucks would be able to drive through the mine, and underground facilities could include offices and possibly ore processing. Twin Metals has stated that much of its mine waste will be put back into the shafts after mining. Once the prefeasibility study is complete, many more details about the proposal should be available. Canoeing on the South Kawishiwi River, between the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the proposed Twin John Myers in the Duluth News-Tribune reported a Metals mine site. All photos courtesy Greg Seitz. mine design is expected in mid-2013, with scoping for 4 WILDERNESS NEWS SPRING 2013 . wildernessnews.org Above: The South Kawishiwi River where it passes by Voyageur Outward Bound camp, near the proposed Twin Metals mine site. Right: The South Kawishiwi River near where it enters Birch Lake and close to the proposed Twin Metals mine site. environmental review to commence after the design is that input, identifying possible issues and alternatives. complete. Once environm7ental review begins, the pub- Shedd said the Forest Service hopes to make a decision on lic will have opportunities to provide comments. the project within a year. Around the world, this chemistry has almost always Water work caused toxic pollution. A 2006 study by mine engineer Jim Northern Minnesota’s water-rich environment presents Kuipers and environmental geochemist Ann Maest found special challenges to any mine. Visibly, the region is full of that 76 percent of similar mines exceeded the water qual- lakes, rivers, and wetlands. Below the surface is fractured ity predicted in pre-mining Environmental Impact bedrock, which allows groundwater to move rapidly, both Statements. For mines located near surface water, that around the area and between the surface and aquifers.