MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – On Tuesday, Marquette’s Eagle Mine gathered for a public Q&A forum at NMU.
Every six months, Eagle Mine welcomes Marquette County residents to join them for a presentation covering performance updates in their operations, worker safety, and environmental impacts.
“We typically receive questions about our environmental impacts,” said Matt Johnson, Eagle Mine’s External Affairs Manager. “How are we impacting nearby water bodies, air quality, and we provide, very transparently, all of the data and research that has been ongoing for that environmental impact.”
These concerns have lead to new technology being implemented at the mine to better monitor their tailing, or mining waste. Eagle uses a subaqueous method of tailing disposal in a nearby iron mine. With new sonar technology, they will be able to manage that much easier than ever before. More information on this can be found here.
“We can see in real time what’s happening underwater,” continued Johnson. “We’ll be able to change how we deposit those tails.”
For 11 years, the mine has held a strong relationship with the surrounding community. Taking in this feedback has significantly impacted the mine’s integrity.
“It’s really good data that we have every six months,” said Johnson. “So, we really understand what the concerns are in this community.”
Throughout the month of June, a survey will be available at eaglemine.com for anyone looking to provide feedback. The survey information will be collected and responded to during the next forum.