Industry opposes cyanide ban

Industry representatives in Wisconsin are taking aim at a bill that would ban the use of cyanide in mining.

Opponents say the bill would needlessly kill jobs while providing no additional protection of the environmental.

“[The bill] is a job killer,” says James Haney, president of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, a non-profit industry association. “We all want a clean environment, but banning cyanide in metallic mining would kill the industry in Wisconsin.”

In particular, the ban would jeopardize a proposed zinc-copper mine in Crandon. The project’s owner, Nicolet Minerals, says permits have been delayed for roughly a decade by state agencies. The mine would provide as many as 400 jobs.

Cyanide use is already highly regulated in the state, and there have been no accidents involving froth flotation systems — the method proposed for Crandon.

Robert Glaser, a spokesman for the United Steelworkers of America in the state, agrees banning cyanide is the wrong approach.

“The Crandon mine would raise the average wages of Forest County and bring high-skilled workers to northern Wisconsin,” he says. “Now is not the time to pass a law that will accelerate more layoffs. We need to create jobs, not kill jobs.”