Crandon mine facts for kids

The Crandon mine was a plan for a large mine in northeastern Wisconsin, USA. It was going to be built near the town of Crandon and the Mole Lake Ojibwe Reservation. This mine became the center of a long fight that lasted for decades. Many groups were involved, including environmentalists, American Indian tribes, and people who loved fishing. They were against the mine, while the State of Wisconsin and big mining companies wanted it to happen. In 2003, the Sokaogon Ojibwe and Forest County Potawatomi tribes bought the mine site. This was a big win for the tribes and environmental groups. It also made people think about the future of mining and tribal power in Wisconsin.

What Was the Crandon Mine Project?

The Crandon site was one of several places in northern Wisconsin where valuable metal sulfide ores were found in the 1970s. This site was thought to have about 60 million tons of copper, zinc, and other metals. This made it seem like a very profitable project.

From the very beginning, environmental groups were against digging up these metals. This is because when metals are taken from sulfide ore, they can create sulfuric acid as a waste product if not handled carefully. Also, the proposed mine sites were close to Ojibwe reservations, which led to strong opposition from the tribes.

Why Were People Worried About the Mine?

Many environmental groups, like the Sierra Club, became very active when they heard about the mine. Other groups, such as Protectors of the Wolf River (POW'R), also formed. They worked with Al Gedicks to organize efforts against the mine.

Their main worry was something called acid mine drainage. This happens when sulfides mix with air or water. It can create high levels of poisonous heavy metals. These include mercury, lead, zinc, arsenic, copper, and cadmium. This process is the biggest cause of environmental damage from mining.

This was a huge concern because the mine area was very close to the Wolf River. Environmentalists were also worried about polluted water being released into the river. This water would contain heavy metals.

Another big concern was the amount of waste the mine would create. Over its lifetime, the mine would make about 44 million tons of waste.

• Half of this waste would be rocky "coarse tailings." These would be used to fill the mine shafts.
• The other half would be powdery "fine tailings." These would be dumped into a waste pond. This pond would be as big as 340 football fields! A plastic liner would separate the waste from the environment.

Other Mining Projects in Wisconsin

Before the Crandon mine, there were other mining proposals in Wisconsin.

• Kennecott Minerals Company wanted to mine near Ladysmith, Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources first said no. But after Kennecott was bought by Rio Tinto Zinc, and with a new governor who supported businesses, the mine was allowed to open. It operated from 1993 to 1997 and has since been cleaned up.
• A Canadian company called Noranda wanted to mine in Oneida County. This plan failed partly because of strong opposition from the Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe tribe.

These smaller battles helped prepare both sides for the bigger fight over the Crandon mine.

Who Opposed the Crandon Mine?

Even though the mine was named after the nearby town of Crandon, it was right next to the Mole Lake reservation of the Sokaogon Ojibwe. The Ojibwe people worried about how runoff from the mine could harm their Rice Lake. This lake was very important to their culture and history.

Five miles east, the Forest County Potawatomi tribe had similar fears. They worried that wind would carry air pollution from the mine to their reservation.

The mine's location on a river that flowed into the Wolf River was also a problem. The Wolf River is a National Wild and Scenic River. This means it is protected for its natural beauty. Any liquid waste escaping the mine would threaten this important river.

Other tribes, like the Menominee and Mohican (Stockbridge-Munsee), lived downstream. They also brought their concerns about the mine's impact on their lands and resources.

History of the Crandon Mine Conflict

The first plan to mine the Crandon site came from Exxon in the late 1970s. In 1975, they did test drilling and confirmed there was a mineral deposit.

The Mole Lake community opposed the mine from the very beginning. This put them at odds with many people in nearby towns. Those people hoped the mining jobs would help the local economy.

Many groups joined the opposition:

• The Sierra Club
• The Wisconsin Resources Protection Council, an environmental group that shared information about large-scale mining.
• The Mining Impact Coalition, a group dedicated to protecting natural and cultural areas.

They argued that the mine, being near the start of the Wolf River, could greatly damage the water quality and the living things in the river. The Sokaogon Chippewa and Menominee tribes, who lived downstream, also worried about their food sources becoming contaminated. They already faced health risks from eating fish and wildlife that were polluted by other industries. The mine would make this risk even worse.

Fishing groups also joined the opposition. They feared the mine would harm the world-class trout fishing waters. With this strong alliance of opposition, Exxon withdrew its permit application in 1986. They said it was because of low metal prices, but strong local opposition likely played a part. When Exxon returned in 1994, the alliance of sport fishermen, environmentalists, and Native Americans was ready to fight them again.

Treaty Rights and the Moratorium

In the late 1980s and 1990s, conflicts over spearfishing and other mining issues led to a broad group of people working together. They were prepared to use treaty rights to stop the mine. The Ojibwe joined with the Potawatomi, Menominee, and Mohican tribes. They lobbied against the mine in Madison and in the courts.

They successfully secured special protections for the Wolf River. This meant that the standards for pollution from a mine would be much stricter. Also, the spearing conflict and an educational campaign by the four tribes helped show white residents the value of Indian treaty rights. As a result, the tribes and local Wolf River residents formed a very unified opposition.

After a victory in the Bad River Train Blockade in 1996, this group achieved a major success. Political pressure forced Governor Thompson to sign a mining moratorium into state law on Earth Day in 1998. The bill had passed the assembly with a vote of 91-6. This moratorium required mining companies to prove that similar mines had operated safely elsewhere before Wisconsin would grant permits.

The End of the Crandon Mine Project

In a lawsuit that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2002, a key decision was made. It said that Indian nations could have "Treatment as a State" status for issues like setting clean air and water standards. This meant the tribes could set their own, possibly much stricter, pollution limits than the state. Essentially, any Crandon mine would have to be completely free of pollution.

This made the project no longer profitable. So, on October 28, 2003, the Mole Lake Ojibwe and Forest County Potawatomi tribes used $16.5 million from casino earnings to buy the mine site and its owner, Nicolet Minerals Inc.. Neither tribe plans to develop the site in the future.

The end of the Crandon project disappointed many in the area who had hoped it would bring jobs and help the economy. However, it also showed the power of tribal nations and environmental groups working together. Today, mining publications often say that Wisconsin has the strongest anti-mining environment in the industry.