Past mines didn't disrupt fishing streams

To the Editor:

We who have lived here all of our lives have seen the huge iron ore stockpiles freshly hauled up from underground waiting to be moved out by railcar bound for the smelters.

Left behind to this day are the immense waste rock piles. These ore and rock piles have been subjected to all types of weather systems and all drainage going to the nearest streams and into Lake Superior, about 15 miles to the north.

In all the years of mining, this drainage hasn’t affected brook trout fishing on all the rivers flowing into Lake Superior. Brook trout are very finicky as to the water they will live in.

In Bessemer, the Peterson Mine had aerial tramways to stockpile the fresh ore. These tramways were about 300-400 yards long. Piles were 50 feet high and stockpiled about 200 yards from Powdermill Creek, which is a very good trout fishery all the way to where it flows into the Black River and Lake Superior.

We also had an open pit mine about 3 miles southeast of Bessemer, and it drains north. So, we should be able to operate an open pit mine near Upson, Wis.

Roy Pohjola

Wakefield