Home is where the mine is

To the Editor:

I am currently a 4th year student at Michigan Tech University and I’m focusing my engineering degree in Mining. On the same note, I’m proud to say that I grew up in Bessemer, Michigan and enjoy the outdoors of the U.P. as any Yooper would. I can see why many residents of the U.P. and Northern Wisconsin would be against the potential mines coming into effect, but I believe it is turning into a necessity for the surrounding areas.

The past summer and fall semesters of 2014, I spent on an internship on the Iron Range of MN. For those of you that have never been in this area, all the towns on the range are basically created from mining. Mining drives the economy of this area, and I would say every worker at the mines, gets a wage they can support their families off of and still have a portion left over. I would say the opposite for many people throughout Northern WI and the U.P. Grown adults work at fast food chains or other minimum wage jobs to support their families when minimum wage was never created to accomplish this task. Yes they could move, but many people like to stick to their home roots and they should have this right.

As I stated earlier, I am also an avid outdoorsman. At least once a week, my boss and I would go fishing or hunting after work. How is this possible in an area that has mining as its main economic factor? The crazy thing is, is that people think of mining today as it was 50 to 100 years ago. It is far from this in reality. The EPA and other regulatory agencies have a huge say in mining operations nowadays and if you cheat or try to cheat, they simply shut you down.

A good portion of the pits that previously have been mined out are now filled with fish such as lake trout, perch, and rainbows. Almost all of these fish are also edible. Although the land has been altered, it has not been fully destroyed. It still serves a purpose and has a use. One day, I would like to at least have the option to move back to my hometown and work a career that I can comfortably live off of. It is time to reconnect with our resources.

— Dominic Fabbri,

Bessemer