The Crandon deposits are sulfide ore deposits rich in zinc and copper. Formed during the Precambrian era these deposits could be one of the largest in the world, if they are ever mined. After the mine’s discovery, the owners had to go through a permitting process to be able to mine the deposits. Today these deposits are still not being mined do to heavy opposition to the mine.

Starting in 1970, Exxon did extensive airborne studies of northern Wisconsin looking for massive ore. The electromagnetic surveys lead them to Crandon in 1974. Exxon found ore the following year with the first drill hole. Exxon enters the permitting process by drilling about 200 more holes to determine the actual size of the deposits. Wisconsin has very strict mining laws and only with the proper permits are you allowed to mine. Over the next eleven years Exxon continues the permitting process, while at the same time doing extensive tests of the area to find out more about the ore.(Hutchinson, 1982)

In 1986 Exxon leaves after spending millions of dollars and thousands of man-hours. The mineral price had taken and incredible drop and it was not worth the cost to continue.(Gerdicks, 1995)

In 1993 Exxon comes back to northern Wisconsin, but this time with a partner, Rio Algom. Rio Algom is a Canadian mining company, and together with Exxon, they form the Crandon Mining Company. They again start the permitting process to open the mine. They also continue testing and gaining more knowledge of the Crandon deposits.(Midwest, 1999)

By 1994, opposition to this mine is growing, and in March of 1994 there is a rally at the Capital, Madison Wisconsin. Over 400 people gathered at the capital to protest the proposed mine. Three months later the Indigenous Environmental Network held their annual "protecting Mother Earth Conference" at a reservation near the mine. The Mole Lake Chippewa’s had invited the group in hopes of gaining support against the mine. The Indigenous Environmental Network is an activist group, from the Pacific Islands, North America, And South America combined that is fighting to save mother earth.(Gedicks, 1995)

The mine is located in Nashville Township and in December of 1996 the Nashville town board, after holding secret meeting, was ready to approve the mine. The town’s people were very upset about this saying that such an important topic should have been brought to a referendum. The towns people filled a petition with names and called a special town meeting to stop the town board from signing the agreement with the Crandon Mining Company. Four months later in April of 1997, Town board elections were held and almost 100% of registered voters voted. At the final count the town’s people had replaced four of the five board member with new representatives. The only one not replaced was the board treasurer. Also, for the first time a native Chippewa had a seat on the town board.(Fantle, 1997)

On July 7^th 1997 in Crandon, there were 29 people arrested while attending an Earth First protest. Twenty minutes into the protest, which included singing folk songs, carrying signs, and chanting, the protesters were arrested for "Unlawful Assembly".(Peterson, 1997)

In 1998 Rio Algom gained full control and Exxon leaves again with no explanation. Rio Algom then formed a new company called the Nicolet Minerals Company. This company’s first agenda was to find out what they could do to make the protesters content and still be able to mine the ore.(Nicolet, 1999)

The Nicolet Minerals Company held many meetings in the surrounding area of the mine to obtain the opinion of the public. They agreed on three changes that will be discussed later within this report. Today, as far as I know the mine is still not open and Nicolet Minerals Company is still fighting to get permits from the state.

One of the biggest problems facing the mine is that there has never been a sulfide mine totally reclaimed.(Mining (2),1999) Exxon claimed that it can totally reclaim the mine. But both Exxon and Rio Algom do not have the nicest track record. In 1981 Exxon pulled out of their mine in Nova Scotia after only two years of operation. Exxons reason being that the cost of pumping out the water coming into the mine was to great. (Mining (2),1999) A few years later Exxon pulled out of an oil shale project in Colorado, laying off over 2000 workers. (Mining (2),1999) Exxon has already abandoned this mine once. What will stop them from leaving again?

Rio Algoms track record is not much better. Eighteen lakes and the Serpent river basin may never be the same due to a Uranium mine owned by Rio Algom. Fishing in this area of Canada had stopped because of diseases and birth defects believe to be related to the pollution. (Mining (2),1999)

Acid mine drainage is a pollutant that infiltrates the water systems and can damage the whole area.(Fantle, 1997)

The Tailings management area will cover more than 350 acres and have an elevation above ground as high as 90 feet. 44 million tons of waste(Gedicks, 1995) is expected to be stored here at a cost 1.6 million per decade to maintain. The biggest fear about the tailings management area is that the bottom of the pile lies 15 feet from the ground water flow.(Gedicks, Blouin, Grossman, 1999) There will be liners and detecting systems to contain the waste.

Another big concern is that since this mine will be so deep. What will happen to all the water that flows in there and how will that flow effect surface water? The surface water in many of the area lakes will be effected, which in turn will effect the wild rice crops, the trout fishing, and recreation. Over 50,000 people visit this area every year to take part in the recreational activities. The states largest whitewater trout stream flows with in miles of the mine. The water pumped from the mine was to be treated and released into the Wolf River. Instead, it will be pumped 40 miles to the Wisconsin river to be dumped there because the Wisconsin river has lower standards and the Crandon mining company will not have to treat the water as much. By pumping the water 40 miles it is estimated that the Crandon mining company will save over 14 million in water treatment costs.(Gedicks, 1995)

The final problem with the mine is the chance of having a boom or bust economy.(Democratic, 1999) The mine may bring in a lot of money and business, but when it leaves it may leave a desolate community.

After the formation of the Nicolet Minerals Company in 1998 the company held a meeting to find out what the residents in the area wanted. The Nicolet Minerals Company agreed to make three changes in their mining plan.(Nicolet, 1999)

The first one was to grind the rock in the upper most level to reduce the amount of water flow. The second was to add a step that would depyritze the tailings. To reduce the tailings management area by 30% they would Mix the pyritized tailings with cement and pour them back in to the mine as fill. The third agreement was to dispose of the waste water in a soil absorption system near the mine. This would eliminate shipping the waste water to the Wisconsin River. (Nicolet, 1999)

Nicolet Minerals Company now has a new plan for the mine that includes these three ideas. For the first three years the mine will be under construction. In this first phase they will build facilities such as a plant site, railroad spur, Tailings management area, access road, waste water treatment and disposal system. For the next 28 years the company plans to extract 55 million tons of ore at about 2 million tons a year. The ore will be mined and hoisted to the surface. The ore will go through a process of grinding and flotation many times, which will separate the zinc, copper, and lead. These minerals in concentrate will be shipped out of state via the railroad to a smelting plant. The pyrite concentrate will be mixed with cement and than placed back under ground as fill. The depyritzed tailings will be pumped to the tailings management area for permanent placement. After the 28 years of mining the Nicolet minerals company is planning a four year restoration project. They hope to return the area to a "Long-term environmentally stable condition and to leave the site for beneficial and recreational use". (Nicolet, 1999)

The environmental impacts report is a report put out by the Nicolet Minerals Company. The following is a summary of that report. The report covered all of the basic topics.

The first topic was cultural resources. The Nicolet minerals company did an archaeological survey of 6000 acres in the area of the mine. They found one site that would be adversely effected. The Keith’s siding logging camp of 1910 will be effected by the railroad spur. The Chippewa community claims to have a burial site in this area but is unwilling to give a location at this time. (Nicolet, 1999)

The next topic was transportation and utilities which was a study of the highways, electrical services, and natural gas system. They found that there is no need for any additional services. (Nicolet, 1999)

Another topic was air quality. There was a study done to see what the quality of air was now and what the expected pollution for the mine would be. The study showed that the mine would be a "minor source of air emissions". (Nicolet, 1999)

Topography was the next topic. A total of 564 acres will be disrupted by the mine. About 180 acres of this will be for the main mine area and another 300 will be for the tailings management area. (Nicolet, 1999)

The next topic in the report was ground water. It is estimated that about 450 gallons per minute will flow into the mine. There are 11 private wells that may be affected. Nicolet Minerals Company agrees to monitor these wells and deepen or replace them if needed. (Nicolet, 1999)

Surface water was the next topic in the report. There was a twelve-month study preformed on the lakes and streams in the area to see if how they would be effected. All lakes within two miles from the mine will see no change. The charts below shows the expected effect on the lakes and streams. (Nicolet, 1999)

Chart modified from Nicolet 1999

Chart modified from Nicolet 1999

375 gallons per minute will be discharged into a soil absorption system and any runoff from ore production and storage areas will be collected and processed in wastewater treatment plant. (Nicolet, 1999)

Wetlands was the next topic of the report. Construction of the mine is expected to affect 27 acres of wetlands, which Nicolet Minerals Company plans to replace with 57 acres of constructed wetlands. The 57 acres is currently farmland that was once wetlands. It is also believed that lowered water levels may cause some changes in the perimeter of the wetlands. (Nicolet, 1999)

Another topic is biology in which Nicolet Minerals company believes there will be little effect. (Nicolet, 1999)

Noise is the next topic. The only time that noise will be noticeable is during the construction of tailings management area. To minimize the effect of this noise Nicolet Minerals Company Plans to only build during the day. (Nicolet, 1999)

Land use is the next topic and there was a study done of 100 square miles of the surrounding area. The study revealed:

The sulfide ore deposits of Crandon were found 24 years ago and still have not been mined. The deposits have gone through three different owners and still the deposits are not being mined. With so many people against the mine, it is hard to see it ever opening. Both sides of the issue give good reasons for their views, but which one is right. Is it worth taking the chance of destroying this pristine area for these deposits? I believe that until the need for copper and zinc out way the opposition for the mine, it will remain inactive.

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