Proposed mine faces mounting troubles

The controversial proposed Back Forty open pit metallic sulfide mine on the Michigan-Wisconsin border has suffered major financial and permitting setbacks due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and increasing public concerns over the safety of tailings dams to store mine waste. The proposed mine, would be located next to the Menominee River, which flows into Lake Michigan, and has raised concerns about potential pollution.

The COVID-19 pandemic has so far wiped $282 billion from the value of the top 50 mining companies worldwide, according to figures published by Mining.com. These huge losses suffered by the world’s largest mining companies has made it extremely difficult for junior mining companies, like Aquila Resources, the owner of the Back Forty Project, to raise sufficient funds to take the project through exploration, development and final permitting of a mine and tailings dam next to the Menominee River.

To attract desperately needed financing from worried investors, Aquila has provided inaccurate information about the status of the Back Forty Project in its most recent financial report. The company’s March 2020 report states “Aquila has received all State and Federal permissions required for the construction and commencement of operations at the Back Forty Project.”

In fact, the company has not yet submitted a revised Dam Safety Permit application since Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) rejected Aquila’s original Dam Safety application as incomplete and requested additional information. Local citizens and the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin strongly opposed the permit at a public hearing because a tailings dam failure could cause massive pollution of downstream communities and Lake Michigan. According to EGLE, “Aquila is not authorized to begin construction of the mine and will not be able to proceed until all permits, including the Dam Safety Permit have been approved by EGLE.”

Read more: https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2020/08/03/proposed-mine-faces-mounting-troubles/