Mining Companies and Lake Superior
The Great Lakes region’s unique geology supports both precious freshwater bodies and holds large deposits of iron, nickel, and copper. In 1994, the Lake Superior region produced 95% of the U.S. supply of iron ore. These minerals play an important role in the development of lake transport and commerce in the region. In Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the most important deposits were copper. Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula in Lake Superior supported large deposits of cooper. The Tribal communities who resided there dug out the copper to make tools including spears, knives, and pots. The first mining rush took place in the 1840s, and more than 140 copper mines were established by the end of the century.
John R. St. John wrote about the Lake Superior region in 1846, commenting on its geological features. The travel narrative was primarily directed towards those in search of copper and iron deposits for exploitation. St. John described the region as the "El Dorado" of the north. He also went on to comment that "[a]bundant and pure as are our lead and iron, our copper is not less so; and if there is one fact which characterizes the bounty of nature to ours over the mineral of all other countries, it is that fact and peculiarity of our Lake Superior native copper, that it is in no instance contaminated with alloys of other metals." The mineral wealth of the region was not lost on many entrepreneurs, and mining companies took advantage of the resources written about.
Several mining companies operated in the northern part of the state and the Upper Peninsula. The American Fur Company traded with the new mining companies in the 19th century, including Union Mining Company, Trap Rock River Mining Company, Eagle Harbor Mining Company, and Lake Huron Silver and Copper Mining Company. Letters between John R. Livingston (Sault Ste. Marie) and N. McGiffin from Trap Rock Mining Company cited concerns about supply chains and shipping routes. In other cases, letters pointed to success in mining operations and requested permits to ship materials.
The most important copper mine, found by lumberman Ernest Koch, produced 14.5 million pounds of refined copper between 1887 and 1897. Situated on the Keeweenaw Peninsula that juts out into the middle of Lake Superior, Joseph E. Gay established the Mohawk Mining Co. which operated until 1934 when it was purchased by the Copper Range Company. In 1900, the company uncovered a large amount of new substance: Mohawkite, which, according to the Detroit Free Press, would net the company over $400,000. To deal with the new compound, the company set up a dock on Lake Superior and a stamp mill to crush the ore and separate out the copper. At its height, the mine employed roughly 1,000 workers and produced more than 30 million pounds of copper. The by-product of this industry was "stamp sand" or taconite, which was dumped into Lake Superior. By the end of the mining boom, roughly 500,000 tons of stamp sands had been deposited into the lake.
Long past the end of the mining rush, Lake Superior's waves have pushed the stamp sands southward. Millions of tons of waste left by Mohawk Mining Company are now eroding the Buffalo Reef in Lake Superior, which is a critically important ecosystem for lake trout and whitefish. White sand beaches have been covered by black stamp, and about 1,300 acres of nearshore coastal habitat are also at risk. A 2016 survey conducted by Michigan Technological University and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers revealed that 35% of the reef has been covered in stamp sand (MI DNR).The issue spans more than ecological problems. The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community is particularly worried because the Tribe has fished the lake long before the appearance of the mining companies. Failing to address the waste problem not only could lead to the destruction of the reef but also violate international and federal laws, including Native treaties. The struggle to stop pollution has taken many avenues, and the fight for cleaner, safer water continues.
In 1955, a similar operation in Minnesota under the Reserve Mining Company took place. Based in Silver Bay MN, the company was built to extract iron from taconite—for every ton of iron ore extracted, two tons of waste material or "tailings" was left over and dumped into Lake Superior. Intially, the material was considered no more harmful than sand. By the late 1960s, however, residents, sport-fishers, and environmental agencies began detecting changes in the waters: fish were dying, the water was becoming cloudy, and the drinking water was being polluted. In the midst of the 1960s environmental movement, Lake Superior's protection came front and center for Senator Robert P. Griffin of Michigan. Politicians and residents together rallied to protect the pristine landscapes from industrial harm. Verna Mize—a Houghton resident—wrote to Senator Griffin amid her long and eventually successful battle against the Reserve Mining Company. In her letter, she lambasted the EPA for their treatment of the situation. Mize was a key founder of the Save Lake Superior Association. After a long battle with Reserve Mining Company, both Mize and Griffin were vindicated in their efforts and halted the company's waste disposal practices.
Letter from Verna Mize to Senator Robert Griffin
Senator Robert Griffin took a special interest in the Lake Superior situation. Griffin spearheaded a campaign to clean up the waters in the Great Lakes Basin. By the 1970s, Senator Griffin led the pressure on the Reserve Mining Company alongside the EPA and other environmental agencies. 1,200 letters and petitions from residents of the Upper Peninsula, alongside 5,000 letters and 20,000 signatures from Michigan to Washington, demanded action on the matter. Accompanied by Senator Phillip A. Hart, Griffin urged the Justice Department to take "whatever court action would most swiftly end the dumping of taconite into Lake Superior." In 1971, the Mining Journal had dubbed Griffin as the "Great Lakes Defender" and a staunch foe of pollution. The newspaper went on to report that Griffin had flatly pressured the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to revoke permits for the Reserve Mining Co. on Lake Superior. By February 1972, the Department of Justice filed a suit against the mining company's activities in Lake Superior.
He and Congressman Philip Ruppe from Houghton held a joint press conference in September 1972, taking Attorney General Kelley to task over his "lackluster" treatment of the situation. In another letter to Edmund S. Muskie, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Air and Water Pollution, Griffin raised concerns about Senate and House Bills related to pollution and pending litigation against the Reserve Mining Company. Relentlessly pursuing the litigation, Griffin wrote to Attorney General Elliot Richardson, urging for an injunction against the 67,000 tons of taconite being daily dumped in the lake. Citing Section 504 of the Federal Water Pollution Contol Act of 1972, the senator sought to bring the charges up against threatening the health of the citizens of Duluth, calling the problem the nation's "most serious environmental case." In 1976, the Midland Daily News later reported on the senators efforts to pass the toxic substances control bill, which Dow Chemical Company had lobbied hard against.
What is an acceptable trade-off between commercial and industrial activity and protecting water resources?
