A proposal looking at underground mining for silver at a site in Pembroke has created among a number of area residents numerous concerns, including the possible negative impact of a polymetallic mine on groundwater, surface waters and the surrounding ecosystem that is one of the most productive in Maine.
     Wolfden Resources Corporation, based in Thunder Bay, Ontario, which is moving forward with another controversial proposal for a mine in Maine at Pickett Mountain near Patten, signed an option agreement with Pembroke & Timberland LLC in December for property off Route 214 that is the site of the former Big Hill mine. The property, the site of a polymetallic sulfide deposit, has been the location of several mining operations or explorations over the years. It was formerly owned by Golden Hope Mines until 2011 and before that by Scintilore Explorations, which conducted core drillings in the early 1980s, prompted by a major jump in silver prices. In the early 1900s it was a surface mine for lead.
     Called the Big Silver project by Wolfden, the Pembroke site, which is within a belt of rocks that extends over 40 square miles, also has zinc, lead and copper, but the silver "is what we're looking for," says company CEO Ron Little. "We will look at what is in the bedrock and drill holes," he says of the company's initial exploration plans, and he notes that there are good indications that there is enough metal at the site that it warrants interest. Both Scintilore and Golden Hope had some drill cores, but the building that they are in was sold and Wolfden has not been able to look at them, he says.
     According to Little, Wolfden's strategy is to advance "high-margin mining projects that host a basket of specialty metals" that are used to power the electric grid and needed for solar-powered energy and electric vehicles. He adds, "Wolfden is the first public company to explore and develop mining projects in Maine under the 2017 Chapter 200 mining legislation, and the addition of Big Silver reiterates our commitment to the state."
     As for concerns that are being raised, Little says that the state's new mining laws are some of "the toughest mining regulations in North America," and he notes that no open-pit mining is allowed in the state. He says local residents should "rest assured there will be a lot of scrutiny" of the proposal. Permitting for any mining would have to be approved by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The Town of Pembroke currently has no local zoning except for shoreland zoning regulations, but the state's mining rules do allow a municipality to regulate mining activities and any trucking from the site.
     According to Little, the DEP would hold public hearings on the project during the permitting process, and he says that once a design is developed the company will make a public presentation in the town, which he hopes can be done this year.
     "Modern mining is much different than that done in the past," Little says. The operation would be similar to the one that Wolfden is proposing at Pickett Mountain. Once the ore is extracted, the rock would be crushed and ground into a powder that would be placed in large tanks filled with chemicals that help make the target metals bubble to the surface. Those bubbles are then swept off and placed into containers, and the ore concentrate is shipped to a smelter, possibly in Europe or Canada. The water would be treated and then go back into the ground through a layer of gravel and a perforated pipe and would be of the same quality as the groundwater, according to Little. "The new mining laws won't let you mine if there is a risk to the water," he says.
     Little says it would be at least six or seven years before any potential construction might begin. The company estimates it will cost about $200 million to get an operation started.
     Over 100 people could be hired for the operation, according to Little, and the company would have a preference to hire local people, but he notes that miners move around and would come into the community to work. However, the company would offer to train people locally for what Little says are good-paying jobs, with those who work in the timber business or mechanics often being the ones who already have some of the skills needed.
     As for the project's other potential benefits, Little says that it's estimated that for every job the company creates there are three more spin-off jobs that support it. Also there would be about half a billion dollars in annual revenue to the state and local community from taxes on the production of the metals and property taxes.
     Little does note that if Wolfden fails to obtain rezoning approval for its Pickett Mountain site then it "will be tough to explore elsewhere in Maine." However, he comments, "We feel the project has the ability to meet the new mining code." But he observes that much of the decision-making comes down to public opinion. Even after making a presentation about how the mining operation works, with liners and water recirculation, it can be difficult to persuade those who are opposed to mining. At some point, though, he maintains that people have to accept "the science," and he notes that the project will mean "a lot of jobs and benefits to the community."
     Concerning the Pembroke project, Little says that residents should not worry. "We will respect people's property. We want to be neighborly." While only a few local people may be hired at the start, he says, "We will build a team there."

Risk to groundwater
     While Wolfden's plans for Pembroke have not yet been fully developed or released, the company's Pickett Mountain project is currently being considered for rezoning approval by the Maine Land Use Planning Committee (LUPC), which has requested additional information from Wolfden because the information provided so far has been insufficient. The LUPC sent the request on February 4 and gave Wolfden 60 days to respond, but the company has not yet provided the information. If the rezoning is approved, the DEP permitting process would then begin.
     The Pickett Mountain proposal has generated significant concerns, and a bill in the current session of the legislature would prohibit all metallic mineral mining in Maine, with supporters arguing that the 2017 law is not sufficiently stringent to protect the environment. Following a hearing, the bill was tabled by the legislature's Environment and Natural Resources Committee on May 5.
     Nick Bennett, staff scientist with the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM), who helped write the state's new mining regulations, argued that an outright ban on metallic mineral mining would be vulnerable to repeal and could trigger takings litigation that could lead to the courts overturning a ban. However, the conservation organization is opposed to the Pickett Mountain proposal, with Bennett describing it as "preposterous. They claim they can treat the wastewater to the natural level" of the groundwater. "There's not a mine in the world that can meet the natural background levels of groundwater."
     Also, Wolfden is proposing to put in drainage ditches that would let the wastewater percolate into the groundwater, but Bennett notes that the bedrock is only two feet under the soil and the ditches would have to be much deeper. "They would have to blast," so there would be fractured bedrock, and the wastewater would then flow into the nearest stream. A direct discharge of wastewater into a stream, though, is illegal.
     Of Wolfden's Pickett Mountain proposal, Bennett says, "They bought the site assuming they could put a discharge pipe into a stream. You can't do that under Maine law," if the discharge would be into a watershed that is smaller than 10 square miles. Not knowing that "was a colossally stupid mistake of Wolfden's part," he says.
     Minerals such as silver, copper and zinc are found in iron sulfide deposits, and when they are dug up and exposed to air and water the iron sulfide oxidizes and creates sulfuric acid, which can kill fish like brook trout and salmon. Bennett says that is the main issue with metal mining. Toxic metals in the ore, like arsenic, selenium, lead or mercury, can leach out, and the "toxic cocktail," called acid mine drainage, can have dangerous levels of heavy metals. Because deposits tend to be small, of poor quality and high in sulfur content and undesirable contaminant metals such as arsenic, Maine is "not a good state to mine in," Bennett says, noting that two earlier mines, the Callahan mine in Brooksville and the Black Hawk mine in Blue Hill went bankrupt because of this issue. Cleanup of the Callahan mine will cost taxpayers an estimated $45 million, and the Black Hawk mine will cost approximately $9 million to clean up.
     That history is pointed to by some residents who are opposed to the Pembroke proposal, as they fear the mining operation would extract natural resources from the community to benefit a foreign corporation and possibly leave a toxic residue for which taxpayers would have to foot the bill to clean up.
     Also, many mines place the leftover ore tailings in an impoundment behind a dam, but Bennett says those dams eventually fail, and the tailings flow into rivers and can cause disasters that can wipe out a village. Maine's 2017 law bans such impoundments for tailings. At the Pickett Mountain site, Wolfden is proposing a dry stack tailings, but Bennett says such a proposal is very expensive, adding, "They have no mining experience, and I doubt they can pull it off." Also no tailings can repel water 100%, so there would need to be a way to deal with air and water interaction with the tailings. "Their proposal is ridiculous," he says.
     "All mining will cause some groundwater contamination," Bennett maintains. In terms of surface water, even with expensive treatment systems it would be difficult to not have some contamination. "The idea that they can treat the wastewater to the quality of the groundwater is ridiculous. No mine can do that."
     "I would be very worried about the Pembroke proposal if I lived there," says Bennett.
     Among the waters that could be threatened by the proposed mine are the large aquifer in Pembroke and several streams and brooks that flow into the Dennys and Pennamaquan rivers. Both of those rivers empty into Cobscook Bay and are important habitat for alewives and elvers, with the Dennys also being habitat for Atlantic salmon.
     A group of concerned residents who have formed the Pembroke Clean Water Committee are volunteering to generate baseline data about water quality in the watersheds of the brooks and streams. Volunteers are welcome. For more information e-mail info@pembrokecleanwater.org.

Financial concerns raised
     Developing new mining sites revolves around the price of metals, Little notes, and with the prices currently high more exploration is taking place. Smaller companies like Wolfden often find the deposits and then in time larger companies come in and take over an operation. That process helps companies like Wolfden attract investors, he says.
     Little points out that for investors "Maine is deemed high risk now because of the new mining law." High-quality projects need to be found in order to support the more costly infrastructure, so the risk is higher of finding those sites.
     "Maine has set a very high standard, and we feel we can match it," he says. The state can now tell the rest of the world that the metals mined in Maine are produced in an environmentally friendly way, he says.
     Wolfden is known as a junior mining company that relies on funding from private equity groups. It has never operated a mine, and some have questioned whether the company has the financial and technical capacity to develop a mine. Stating that the company has only lost money since it was formed, Bennett states, "Their financial history is quite shady."
     According to its latest publicly available financial statement ending in June 2020, the corporation has accumulated a deficit of over $31 million since it was incorporated in Ontario in 2009. It had a net loss of $1.2 million for the six months that ended in June 2019. The statement notes that the corporation's "ability to continue as a going concern is dependent upon its ability to raise additional capital to continue the development of its mineral properties. These material uncertainties cast significant doubt on the corporation's ability to continue as a going concern."