On Feb. 27, over 30 individuals delivered spoken comments to the Michigan Strategic Fund, voicing opposition to a proposed $50 million grant to Copperwood, a foreign company’s plan to open a metallic sulfide mine at the juncture of Lake Superior, Porcupine Mountains State Park and the North Country Trail. Here’s why:

The main thing our tax dollars would be paying for is not copper, but waste. With an ore grade of just 1.45%, for every ton of extracted material, 29 pounds would be copper and 1,971 pounds would be waste, requiring on-site storage, forever, in a 323-acre tailings disposal facility. TDFs may contaminate either through gradual seepage or sudden catastrophic rupture, and Copperwood’s would be erected on topography sloping towards Lake Superior, 10% of the world’s surface freshwater.

This is also one of the most beloved outdoor recreation areas in the Midwest. The Porkies were recently ranked as the most beautiful state park in the country. There are real concerns about disruptions from noise, light, blasting and industrial traffic, and that massive waste facility would be visible from Copper Peak, the North Country Trail and the Lake of the Clouds overlook.

“But it’ll revitalize the economy, right?” This is in contrast to well-documented evidence showing that mines are far more likely to lead to negative economic outcomes for rural communities. To quote Harvard Economics Professor James Stock, former economic advisor to President Obama:

“Mining increases jobs initially, but after a while the adverse effects kick in, partly because of productivity but also because of the adverse effect on tourism and the amenity economy. In 89% of cases, copper mining ends up being a negative for jobs and a negative for incomes.”

A few city councils have voted in favor of the proposed mine. But Lake Superior is a collective resource spanning multiple states, countries and Indigenous nations, so should anyone have the right to threaten it in such a way? And whereas those resolutions were voted on by four or five members at unadvertised meetings unbeknownst to the public, the petition of opposition has over 13,000 signatures — nearly the population of Gogebic County.

All in all, myself and many others believe that this is far too divisive of a project to receive taxpayer funding. If the project wishes to advance, it should do so on its own two feet.

Tom Grotewohl

Wakefield Township

www.ProtectThePorkies.com