"Midwest Mining Rush Threatens Water"

"Some of this nation's most pristine ancient forests, glacial wetlands and fresh water lakes are under threat from large, multinational mining companies that plan to extract billions of dollars in copper and nickel using methods untested in a water-rich environment. The Great Lakes Basin – America's largest supply of surface fresh water – faces the duel dangers of increasing prices for industrial metals and a failing economy in desperate need of good paying jobs. These economic realities have weakened efforts to protect the region.

In the upper Midwest, mining companies estimate there is the largest deposit of copper, nickel and precious stones in North America encased in nearly 5 billion tons of low-grade rock. The span of sulfide ore that harbors these vast amounts of metals and stones runs from the tip of Lake Superior's Duluth Complex through Minnesota's Arrowhead region. It borders the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Voyageurs National Park. It is underneath Wisconsin's acres of wild rice and Native American territorial lands and extends to Michigan's storied Upper Peninsula and then into Ontario, Canada. This rock, when exposed to air and water, sparks a toxic reaction that creates sulfuric acid."

Tiffany Danitz Pache reports for DC Bureau November 4-9, 2010.

"Part I: Foreign-owned Mining Companies vs. U.S. Regulators"

"Part II: Tourism vs. Mining"

"Part III: Michigan: A River Runs Through It"