Mining pollution may be hurting Minn's wild rice

[phantom power]

Len Anderson is a retired science teacher who has paddled and harvested wild rice in the area for years. He points to research the DNR has done that shows a spike in sulfates in the St. Louis River as it winds its way south of the mines, collecting water from tributaries, like the Partridge River.

"Above the Partridge River, the river's choked with wild rice, and of course flocks of ducks that go with it. When you get to the Partridge River -- the end of wild rice," said Anderson. "That's when the first mining-impacted water hits the St. Louis River. It's the Partridge River."

Anderson says sulfate interferes with root development and the wild rice doesn't grow well. The sulfate comes from sulfide in rocks exposed to air during mining operations.

Existing taconite mines have been sending extra sulfate into the water for fifty years.

But now, half a dozen companies are exploring and planning to build a new kind of mine that's expected to produce much more sulfate. They've found copper and nickel in rock that contains more sulfide than most iron ore formations.

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/11/28/wild-rice-standards/

[glinda]

1. You kill the rice you kill the culture.