the public gets a chance to speak at the public hearing

The RTZ/Kennecott Mining Company is attempting to certify in state court that the Flambeau Mine near Ladysmith has been successfully reclaimed.......  But the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and several conservation groups are challenging the giant mining company.  They argue the mine is polluting the water. click here for 23 minute live stream broadcast that also speaks about nukes   click here for a short interview on mining by Al Gedicks

the Ladysmith Mine is a metallic sulfide ore body capable of acid mine drainage

The Kennecott Ladysmith mine is a metallic sulfide deposit capable of producing acid mine drainage which, once started, acts like battery acid in water remaining for tens of thousands of years. Similar deposits exist in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

 

The RTZ/Kennecott Mining Company is attempting to certify in state court that the Flambeau Mine near Ladysmith has been successfully reclaimed.  But the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and several conservation groups are challenging the giant mining company.  They argue the mine is polluting the water.

The Flambeau Mine began operating, 140 feet from the Flambeau River, in 1993.  The Flambeau ore deposit is now exhausted, after having yielded 181,000 tons of copper, 334,000 ounces of gold, and 3.3 million ounces of silver in just four years.

On April 17^th, 2007 at a courtroom in Ladysmith the hearing on the mine reclamation opened in front of Administrative Law Judge Jeffrey Boldt.  The mining company argues that the reclamation only involves removing some structures and planting grass on the backfilled mine site.   The mining company contends that reclamation doesn’t involve groundwater or surface water standards and monitoring.  The LCO Tribe and conservation groups argue the mine is polluting, asking the question, “What about the water?!!!”

Sandy Lyon from the Superior Broadcast Network attending the hearing and talked with tribal council member Mic Isham from Lac Courte Oreilles and anti-mining activist Dr. Al Gedicks a sociology professor from UW-Lacrosse.

The Public Hearing will be held Wednesday May 16th from 2 PM - 5 PM and 6:30 PM until everyone who wishes has spoken . The Public Hearing will resume on Thursday May 17th at 8:30 AM and will continue as long as there are speakers.

WOJB 88.9FM www.wojb.org  will be broadcasting the hearings live and will be heard on the internet.

WOJB is a public/community radio station owned and operated by the Lac Courte Oreilles Chippewa tribe and it's signal covers northern Wisconsin.

The hearing will take place in the Rusk County Courthouse, 311 Miner Ave. Ladysmith Wisconsin 54848

For further information on the case and the Public Hearing contact Wisconsin Resources Protection Council: www.wrpc.net

Dr. Al Gedicks at gedicks.al@uwlax.edu

Laura Furtman at stargal@centurytel.net

to learn more about the Ladysmith metallic sulfide mine pollution and how it is connected to Michigan click on the link below

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