Fault Lines

Wisconsin’s mining standoff

Environmentalists align with local tribes to stop the development of an open-pit taconite mine in the Penokee Mountains.

A proposal to dig what could be one of North America’s largest open pit iron mines in northern Wisconsin pits corporate interests against a coalition of tribes and local residents.

This mine is totally different than the underground mines. This mine totally destroys the area.

by A resident

On March 11, 2013, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed legislation that rewrote the state’s iron mining laws, paving the way for Gogebic Taconite (GTAC) to dig a $1.5bn open-pit mine in the pristine woods of the Penokee mountain range.

The mine, which could eventually reach 35km (22 miles) in length, provoked an immediate standoff.

On one side is GTAC and its supporters anxious for jobs in an area with unemployment double the national average.

On the other stand the tribes, residents, and political leaders intent on preserving the land and protecting the water from contamination.

Fault Lines follows the unfolding battle on the ground and traces the way money and power have influenced the laws that will determine whether and how this mine gets built.

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Fault Lines   can be seen on Al Jazeera English each week at the following times GMT: Tuesday: 2230; Wednesday: 0930; Thursday: 0330; Friday: 1630; Saturday: 0530.

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