Gogebic Taconite faces another hurdle for Wisconsin mine

The discovery about 100 lbs of asbestiform grunerite at the site of Gogebic Taconite’s proposed iron ore mine in northern Wisconsin presents another hurdle for the company to clear in its efforts to bring its planned $1.5 billion mine to production.

This newest issue arose when the Ashland Daily Press reported that University of Wisconsin-Madison geochemist Joseph Skulan and Northland College geologist Tom Fitz identified at least 100 lbs of grunerite on the mining site. Grunerite is commonly known as "brown asbestos" and has been linked to lung disease in mine workers, according to a study in Minnesota. Grunerite is also similar to asbestiform particles found in the taconite tailings once dumped into Lake Superior by Reserve Mining, one of the costliest environmental cleanups in U.S. history in the 1970s.

Despite these findings, Gogebic Taconite has no plans to abandon efforts to develop the openpit mine.

Bob Seitz, a spokesman for Gogebic Taconite, told the Capital Times that there are ways to address the release of any asbestos during the mining process, where rocks are crushed and the iron ore extracted with magnets. He says it could as simple as using water to control dust at the site.

“If it’s something we can handle and if we can demonstrate this to the state and federal governments, then we can move ahead,” says Seitz. "We’ll continue to do scientific testing as required by law."

Seitz is familiar with those issues but says mining operators in Minnesota today are familiar with handling the hazardous material and expects that similar procedures can work in Wisconsin.

“They treat it like any other workplace issue,” he said. “It’s been found in parts of the Mesabi Range and they’ve dealt with it there.”