Lake Superior is largest, coldest, and cleanest of the Great Lakes. Her ecosystems and watershed live in a delicate balance with the surrounding world and human impact. The Upper Peninsula, bordering Lake Superior's south shore, has a deep history of mining and extractivism, often with little regard for the importance of the Lake's health. Unfortunately, that tradition continues today, with two active mines and one proposed mine within and bordering the Superior watershed. We, along with many of our partners, keep a close eye on these mines and take action when things aren't going as they should. Visit our pages below to learn more about the mining action work we're doing.
The Copperwood Project is a proposed copper sulfide mine at the juncture of Porcupine Mountains State Park, the North Country Trail, and Lake Superior. It would be the closest sulfide mine to Lake Superior in history, with plans to mine up to 100 feet from the lake’s surface. It also plans to host operations directly adjacent to and mine underneath the Presque Isle Scenic Area of the park.
The Tilden Mine is an open-pit iron ore mine located 5 miles south of Ishpeming in Marquette County. Owned and operated by Cleveland-Cliffs (“Cliffs”), the Tilden and Empire mines sit directly adjacent in the Escanaba River watershed. Since 1963, Cliffs has destroyed 1,830 acres of wetlands and lakes to continue mining at Tilden and Empire, and they hope to destroy more to expand their waste stockpile.
