Today I had the good fortune of being on a field trip with the mining study group to see the Fairmount Minerals mine in Menomonie, Wisconsin. Three mining representatives took the better part of their day to show us around and answer questions. I am very appreciative of their effort and of having the chance to be part of the group.
The group was told “Good mines make good neighbors” and we shouldn’t be concerned because there aren’t many good mining sites in Goodhue County. Details follow….
The Fairmount Minerals, Menomonie mine is located just a little way off of the highway. It is less noticable than the nearby Walmart warehouse. At the entrance is a sign that says “Do Good, Do Well”. A large solar array occupies a space adjacent to the parking lot. Posts by the parking lot hold bluebird houses. There is a parking space reserved for fuel efficient cars.
When we arrived at the mine we were greeted by a smiling mine representative who led us into a modest industrial building past a front desk and waiting area to a conference room. With an air of expectation, we were told “the bathroom is down the hall”. In the bathroom there were flow restrictors on the faucets, a waterless urinal(I think) and enviromentally responsible cloth towels for drying hands.
As we chatted in the conference room they wanted to make it clear that Fairmount Minerals is a very good neighbor. We were informed the conference table was, in fact, made by a happy neighbor of the mine, from re-used wood.
We see a video that starts with a little girl playing on a beach. We learn that silica is safe and used for everything. We learn that sand and aggregate mining has been around forever. The role of frac sand is downplayed. We hear about glass and aquarium sand.
The geologist tells us they have been through this process so many times they don’t really need to go to public meetings for their own sake. They have heard every possible objection.
Red Wing is just a little different they say. Unlike others, we make the argument that frac sand mining is different from the quarries and gravel pits of yester year. A position they hold to be ridiculous. They apparantly feel Goodhue County frac sand mine opposition is based on unfounded fear or a “not in my backyard” attitude.
Then we all piled into an orange school bus and rolled out into the pit. There where big piles of sand and conveyor belts and various metal structures. Above us on the ridges were water cannons to be used to wet down the sand if conditions get too dry and windy. It seemed like every few minutes a water truck would drive by sprinkling the ground. We learned wind in excess of 13 mph triggers “High Alert” because of dust. The following photo of a water cannon was sent to me by someone a couple of weeks ago. I do not know if the text on the photo is accurate or even if this is the Menomonie mine for sure, but it is a water cannon being used to keep down dust…
We were given the impression the mine pumps very little water out of the ground. We were told the mine recycles all of its water.
There was just one loader operating, that we could see, scooping sand and dumping it into a device that is the start of a fully mechanized process. Aside from us and the loader the pit seemed deserted.
I understand normally two loader operators work different parts of the pit. By the time you add in different shifts and everyone who works inside operations they employ 25 people.
The mining rep tells us frac sand is a gold rush, the only difference being the actual mineral is not gold. The only thing holding back fracking is the supply of sand. Currently the demand is unlimited. He says eventually the demand will crash and so will the industry. Only the well run mines like Fairmount mines will survive.
The major transportation cost for sand is getting it to the railroad. After that distance doesn’t matter as much. We were told the best mining sites are next to railroads. “Next to” meaning within two miles.
A mine rep indicated a mine site 15 miles from a rail spur would be uneconomical. It is interesting that at another site owned by Fairmount Minerals apparantly trucks sand over twenty miles from Wisconsin to a Cannon Falls Minnesota rail spur. Other companies truck sand from Bloomer Wisconsin to Woodbury Minnesota. It would be nice if someone could clarify the trucking economics.
We were told Goodhue County has “very few” sites that would be economical to mine which runs counter to what the state geologist told us at the League of Women Voters panel discussion. The geologist working on the Hay Creek site has also told us otherwise.
After lunch and discussion it was time to leave. On the way out we were given green cloth shopping bags with the slogan “Do Good, Do Well”.
Discussion on the ride home made it clear the folks from Fairmount Minerals made a good impression. They run a model operation.
One committee member, evidentally impressed by the transportation argument, thinks the Windsor Permian site in Hay Creek is just a mistake, that they will never apply for a permit. He says he knows the land will be held as an investment.
So we have heard the “company line”
It’s predictable that when asking geologists and miners if they should mine the answer will be affirmative. It’s like asking the gophers in my yard if they should continue digging. Of course they will approve. Mining is what they do. Similarly, zoning and planning personal are not in the business of denying permits. They work with the applicant to meet their goal. We can’t expect public agencies to make judgements on vague notions of what is good and right. There need to be definitions and rules. The rules have to be formed through a political process.
We hear again and again that frac sand mining is just the same as any other small scale mining and that our rules are good enough. That’s like saying “my bathtub is the same as the ocean, its all just water”.
It would be informative to find a way to present another point of view with the same polish and professionalism.
When the citizens of Goodhue County are referred to with a certain tone of voice as people who are saying “not in my back yard” we should remind the person with the “tone” that it is indeed our backyard and no number of cloth towels or reusable shopping bags is going to replace a bluff once it is gone.
Supporters of the moratorium are accused of hurting the economy by slowing down the oil process. How should we feel about an executive at Windsor Permian who was at the center of the bank collapse?
It would be naive to think frac sand mining would have no negative effect on our quality of life, our environment.
Like Fairmount Minerals, mining companies should be working very hard to impress potential future neighbors. Goodhue County is not a desert or the high plains. There is no question that adding a multi billion dollar industry to our small part of the world will change things. Here is an intersection near the Menomonie mine on 10/22/2011 that is showing it’s age.
The important questions are how much of the money will stay here and how much will be hauled away? What will be the cost to us in roads and infrastructure, business’s crowded out. What is the long term affect on the environment? What happens to our economy when the frac sand industry comes down to earth? Do we want to be a boom and bust mining town?
