Recognizing that mineral deposits are finite resources, we begin planning for the closure of our mining operations from the beginning, taking into account the mineral extraction, current and ultimate landforms, water resources and management, vegetative and arboreal features, and our neighboring communities. Formal plans are developed and reviewed with state resource authorities each year as the mining progresses to enable an orderly transition from mining operations to reclamation.
What do paper sludge, Canadian geese, and disease-resistant trees have in common? They are all examples of successful environmental initiatives in which Cliffs has been engaged.
North American Mining Operations: Michigan
In Michigan, where Cliffs has operated mines for generations,
lands no longer needed for ongoing or future mining and support activities are being made available for alternate uses and development. Examples include the conversions of the former Cliffs Shaft Mine into a historic park and a 2,300-acre tailings basin on the site of the shuttered Republic Mine into a wetlands preserve. These and other efforts such as the Net River Wetland Mitigation Project have successfully created nesting and breeding areas for birds and other wildlife.
At Deer Lake, a cooperative effort with the State of Michigan will restore and protect the lake and provide recreational opportunities to the community.
As Michigan’s largest earth-moving operation, Cliffs' Empire and Tilden mines have created significant landforms as a part of the mining process. An innovative plan developed in collaboration with Northern Michigan’s pulp- and paper-making industry utilizes its solid waste residuals as an environmentally acceptable growth medium.
These residual materials are rich in organic matter, plant-available nutrients, and microbial biomass that make them ideally suited for mine reclamation. The program has the dual advantage of recycling sludge materials that would otherwise be landfilled and facilitating the establishment of a sustainable soil system and vegetation on the area’s rocky stockpiles, providing a winning partnership for the communities in which we operate, and for both industries.
As a result of these efforts, the revegetated stockpiles now provide a dramatic vista for the neighboring town of Palmer, the site of the Warner Creek Watershed and Park Project, which is a cooperative environmental and educational venture with local schools for rehabilitation and enhancement of riparian ecosystems in an accessible natural area.
Another innovative reclamation project in Michigan is benefiting from a mine reclamation effort that was conducted at the historic Humboldt Mine. Hybrid aspen trees planted on the tailings basin in the 1970s have thrived, and are now providing a source of tree cuttings with superior disease resistance and hardiness that are being used to establish nurseries and for reclamation at other sites.
North America Mining Operations: Minnesota
The Hibbing Taconite Company in Minnesota manages more than 32,000 acres of land, more than half of which is auxiliary wilderness or buffer lands. The company maintains more than 100 acres of newly created wetlands, and has reclaimed approximately 700 acres of mined lands. Grasses, legumes, and more than 68,000 seedlings planted for control of wind erosion, also provide a food source for the area’s many wildlife species, including deer, coyotes, wolves, eagles, ospreys, and ducks. As the summer home for a large population of Canadian geese, the basin has been used as a banding site for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ survey of regional waterfowl populations.
Similar reclamation and revegetation programs in progress at United Taconite are providing not only a habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife, but also grass crops being used for mulching other areas.
The Northshore mine, located near Lake Superior on a well-traveled tourist route, has constructed educational overlooks for the public and provided financial support of the Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center.
At the Cliffs Erie property in Minnesota, home of a former taconite mine, mill and pellet plant, reuse of former facilities and land has enabled development without new disturbance, paving the way for new jobs in the local community and replacing income lost when the plant closed.
North American Mining Operations: Canada
In Labrador, Canada, home to the Wabush Scully Mine and in an area with many lakes and streams, Cliffs has developed a program in conjunction with the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans that focuses on fish habitat enhancement and compensation in areas impacted by ongoing mining activities.
Australian Mining Operations: Western Australia
Our Australian operation, Portman Limited, has also achieved significant progress in environmental management since its acquisition. As production activity from the new operations at Mt. Jackson and Windarling consolidated, the emphasis on environmental management has shifted from control of mine establishment and construction activities to implementation and ongoing development of the Koolyanobbing Environmental Management System (EMS) and conservation initiatives.
These and similar projects fuel our commitment to serve as a socially responsible custodian of the land on and around our facilities, helping to create a brighter future for our employees and the communities in which we live and operate.
