ISHPEMING, MI— Environmentalists are concerned about a proposed expansion of the Tilden mine in Ishpeming.
Cleveland Cliffs, Inc. has requested a permit to expand the mine’s rock stockpile by nearly 78 acres.
Jane Fitkin is the director of Citizens for a Safe and Clean Lake Superior. She says increasing the mine’s footprint would take a heavy toll on wetlands and wildlife habitat that have been exploited since the 1960s.
“The level of destruction is just too high for the touted economic benefits that they claim.”
Fitkin says there are other options for storing the mining waste, like backfilling the Tilden pit as it’s mined and using the Empire or National mine properties for the new rock stockpile.
Joe Derocha is chair of the Marquette County Board of Commissioners, which supports the proposal. He says the expansion is needed to continue mining at the Tilden and keep quality jobs in the county, but he says he understands concerns over environmental issues.
“But we have a faith in the Fish and Wildlife at the federal level and we certainly have faith in EGLE’s ability to use the laws and the tools in place to mitigate the location or the acres affected.”
There’s no timeline for when a decision on the permit might be made.
