The Man Behind the Proposed GTac Mine in Wisconsin

America's leading asshole - Christopher Cline

Christopher Cline is a billionaire living variously in Palm Beach, mega-yachts, hiding behind his extraction conglomerates with a long history of poisoning huge tracts of land and water, leaving area residents and governments to clean up his toxification.

Known as the new New King of Coal, Cline doesn't bother much with his public image, beyond avoiding as much as possible the public eye, as he looks at the Illinois Basin for more coal extraction and fracking and northern Wisconsin for the largest open pit mine on the planet in a pristine area that for now draws tourists from out-of-state.

The coverage of Cline in the American press has been relegated to celebrity pieces on whom Cline is dating with an occasional piece on Cline buying up stock in the extraction industry. Cline manages somehow to keep an extremely low profile.

Bios of Cline are typically written by environmental activists noting how destructive and oblivious cline is to the health of the people his extraction operations destroy:

Although Cline’s lifestyle appears to be all about champagne and caviar, the basis of his wealth presents a far darker story than the golden-hued online tour of his 33,413 square foot mansion in North Palm Beach, Florida.

According to an extensive 2010 profile of Cline in Bloomberg Markets Magazine, he became "a billionaire by betting on a dirty fuel the world can’t get enough of." (Pember, Indian Country Today)

I'll poison your land and water, buy the politicians and there's nothing you can do about it, is the position of this gaping asshole of a man, pictured above-right, next to his Mine Games Yacht (unless he's already sold the $ 28-million, 161-foot toy for a more expensive yacht). (Fabrikant, New York Times)

The new problem is that Cline is trying to begin operations in pristine northern Wisconsin in Iron and Ashland counties by ripping open the largest open pit mine in the planet looking to make some more $ millions from iron ore extraction (eventually), expressing no concerns that his proposed open pit mine would release into the pristine environment various toxic amounts of mercury, arsenic, and other heavy metals, sulfates, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides, and simply ignoring what looks bad such as the release of sulfuric acid into area rivers, streams and lakes.

Penokee Hills range in northern Wisconsin - Perfect for a
massive open pit iron ore mine, claims Christopher Cline

For now, most legal experts see high hurdles before Cline could begin operations no matter how many Wisconsin Republicans are trying to help Cline destroy the Penokee Hills range in northern Wisconsin, pictured at right. (Kaufman, New York Times)

Political opposition has galvanized against the very idea of disturbing a pristine wilderness, as Cline is now allied now with the Koch brothers. (Verburg, Wisconsin State Journal)

Supported by Scott Walker (and opposed by Walker presumptive Democratic Party opponent, Mary Burke), the proposed Gogebic Taconite mine would toxify the pristine "headwaters of the Bad River, which flows into Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world and by far the cleanest of the Great Lakes. Six miles downstream from the site is the reservation of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, whose livelihood is threatened by the mine." (Kaufman, New York Times)

Iron County Wisconsin is a corrupt political jurisdiction, where the rule of law has long been supplanted by political and personal alliances.

Yet, even Iron County touts the grandeur of its natural resources and habitats as a "place of incredible natural beauty. With 300 pristine lakes encompassing 34,000 acres of pure water, the only thing that could make it better is Lake Superior coastline. Good thing Iron County has that, too. Come and enjoy an amazing waterfall, or take a long walk on the beautiful sandy beaches of Saxon Harbor."

Why despoil such an amazing environment: Corruption and convenience, and the sociopathic drive for extraction of natural resources for profit, whatever the consequences of poisoning the surrounding environment and residents.

The CIA has a term for the type of human being who would inflict mass casualties intentionally by injecting toxic agents into populations: Terrorist.

"Terrorists have considered a wide range of toxic chemicals for attacks. Typical plots focus on poisoning foods or spreading the agent on surfaces to poison via skin contact, but some also include broader dissemination techniques," reads a public CIA site dealing with the delivery devices of toxins and other "typical agents ... available to al-Qa'ida and other terrorist groups."

Unfortunately, for Americans the extraction industry is not listed as a terrorist organization.

Fortunately for Americans, we still do have the Environmental Protection Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers and a federal court system protecting the habitat and environment of protected species under federal law that Cline would need to navigate before he begins his plan of destruction.

Citizen groups insist their voices are heard before Cline executes his project of terror by extraction.

Wisconsin environmental activist, Frank Koehn, remains optimistic of stopping the would-be terrorist, Cline: "With the mercenaries he hired, Chris Cline shows that he’s just another rich guy who’ll try to take our resources and pollute our water. It’s not the first time this happened, and they’ve all failed. He will, too." (Pember, Indian Country Today)

Don't Ingest Arsenic, No Matter What GTac Mining Co Tells You

While the proprietors of the proposed Gogebic Taconite (GTac) open-pit mine in Wisconsin may tell you that ingesting arsenic is a harmless act, don't believe them.

Arsenic is a toxin, a cancer-causing agent that can be found in the Earth's crust, a fact some will tell you disconfirms arsenic's danger.

Take Bill Williams, president of GTac.

Don't believe Williams. He and GTac are in northern Wisconsin, and in a premeditated act they will poison the residents and toxify the waters, if the have their way in ripping open the largest open pit mine on the planet in Iron and Ashland counties.

The Center for Public Integrity has a piece today by David Heath entitled What to do if your drinking water contains arsenic? The short answer is stop immediately.

But politicians like Wisconsin State Rep. Tom Tiffany (Hazelhurst, Wisconsin) and Scott Walker have other ideas: Front for the GTac mining companies and the families up north can move, if they don't like it.

Meanwhile, the fight goes on:

"With contaminants such as mercury, arsenic, and other heavy metals, sulfates, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides being released from mining tailings' waste dust, waste rock, ore transportation and ore processing, the air and water quality in northern Wisconsin could have been seriously polluted," notes the Wisconsin Sierra Club, accessing the Proposed Taconite Mine in the Penokee Range in Northern Wisconsin. "While we were seriously concerned about (Christopher Cline's) mining ventures destroying our beautiful lands, endangering the lives of our workers and surrounding community members, and pollution from mining dirtying our clean air and water, we found that Chris Cline was living in a 33,000 square-foot house (pictured right) and enjoyed taking his investors on his 164-foot-long yacht named, 'Mine Games'. Wisconsin simply couldn't risk being a pawn in this sort of 'game.'"

Implausible Deniability by Mining Company in Wisconsin

Microscopic image of asbestiform grunerite, one of the most dangerous
forms of asbestos, from the site of GTac’s proposed iron mine.
Image is from a scanning electron microscope (SEM) made at
UW-Madison by the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey.

There came to northern Wisconsin a mining company that did not know

Mike Simonson of Wisconsin Public Radio reports the confirmed presence of dangerous asbestiform grunerite at the site of the proposed open pit mine in the Penokee Hills range in northern Wisconsin has resulted in a new company strategy: "Gogebic Taconite (GTac), the company behind the proposed iron ore mine in the Penokee Hills, says it won’t take rock samples from an area where asbestos-like fibers were found."

Out of sight, out of mind.

So, asbestiform grunerite is present, but GTac simply will go somewhere else and pretend this dangerous toxin does not exist.

Writes Simonson: "The fibers are in grunerite deposits, but in a letter last week to the DNR [Department of Natural Resources], GTAC continues to deny its existence, saying: 'Our position remains that asbestosform material is unlikely to be present in the reserve.'"

This position is a lie, a bald-faced lie, already disconfirmed multiple times.

The United States Geological Survey warns about the danger of naturally-occurring asbestiform:

According to the U.S. EPA and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry potential health effects of exposure to asbestos can include asbestosis, mesothelioma, and lung cancers. In the past, most medical research and regulatory focus has been on the health effects of asbestos used industrially or commercially. However, there have been increasing concerns recently regarding the potential health effects of naturally-occurring asbestos (NOA), which occurs as an accessory mineral in some rocks ... .

A Wintery Hike Along the Tyler Fork River in the Penokee Mountains
- Photo by Greggory Jennings at
Citizens Concerned about the proposed Penokee Mine

You never wish mesothelioma onto anyone, not for the worst of humanity, not even for the sick, dangerous sociopaths who would inflict this horrible disease onto others.

In light of the fact of the confirmed presence of asbestiform grunerite at the GTac mining sight, here's a phone conversation that will never take place between Bill Williams, president of the Gogebic Taconite LLC (GTac) and Christopher Cline, billionaire CEO of Cline Resource and Development company, the father conglomerate of GTac.

Bill Williams: 'Hey Chris, we gotta shut down our proposed open pit mine up there in Wisconsin. Multiple independent analyses have confirmed the presence of dangerous asbestiform grunerite, and we know this will adversely affect the habitat of Native-American treaty-protected species, for starters. We close, or I resign and go to Spain to face justice for our arsenic leak.'

Christopher Cline:—'Geez, Bill, no way did I know the GTac mine would adversely affect the habitat. You are so right. We are pulling up stakes and leaving—today. You put out the word, and issue an apology to the folks up in Iron County and Ashland County in Wisconsin. All we care about are the environment and jobs; and I don't care how much money leaving today costs us, we are out, if I have to come up from Palm Beach and do this myself.'

Gogebic Taconite ore samples contain: "a highly concentrated form of asbestos fibers...it is the most dangerous." From Wisconsin Public Television Here and Now's reporter Mike Simonson:

GTac Mine Pres Gives Mixed Signals Now on Wisconsin Mine

 A crude but revealing cross polarized light microscope
image of a sample of asbestiform grunerite,
one of the most dangerous forms of asbestos,
collected at the GTac mine site by Dr. Skulan
Image first published at:
Wisconsin Citizens Media Cooperative Authentic News

From The Guardian - "Activists have pointed to environmental damages as potentially devastating to Wisconsin's forests and waters" -

From Dr. Joseph Skulan's Open Letter: Presence of dangerous  asbestiform grunerite has been proven by multiple independent analyses

The president of the company seeking to open an iron ore mine in northern Wisconsin said on Friday that he didn't know whether an ongoing investigation into a mine he previously managed will affect the new project. The investigation is looking into whether a mine he previously managed contaminated a Spanish aquifer with arsenic.

Bill Williams was director of mining and technical resources for Cobre Las Cruces, which opened a major copper mine in southern Spain in 2009. He left the company in 2011 and became president of Gogebic Taconite, which is based in Florida but has an office in Hurley, Wisconsin. Gogebic Taconite has proposed opening a $1.5bn iron ore mine near Lake Superior in Ashland and Iron counties.

Williams and company officials are in the process of submitting a formal application to state regulators for the mine, which would cover a four-mile area. The plan has generated opposition from environmentalists, members of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, who live in the area, and others who fear the mine will pollute one of Wisconsin's last pristine regions. Gogebic's interest in the project began in 2010, before Williams joined the company. ...

Cobre Las Cruces, which has a major copper mine in southern Spain, has been accused of contaminating a nearby aquifer with arsenic. It's not unusual to have problematic levels of arsenic in water when mining, but it's not known whether that would be an issue with the Wisconsin mine, said Tom Evans, a retired geologist from the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey. Problems, whether related to arsenic or other potential contaminants, can be properly mitigated, Evans said.

"You have to design a project that will deal with that one way or another," he said. "There is no mining of these kind of deposits that are inherently safe. They all are inherently problematic, or dangerous, whatever word you want to use, because you are disrupting things."

Opponents of the Wisconsin mine have seized on news of the probe, circulating reports of it on social media and websites.

---
From Dr. Joseph Skulan's Open Letter to the Press Regarding GTac:

The following passage appears in GTac’s revised bulk sample plan, released on the DNR website today:

The grunerite [asbestos] issue has been the subject of a media debate and the removal of these areas leaves the debate to be resolved by the systematic and scientific study of the issue that will be required within the permit application. Our position remains that asbestiform material is unlikely to be present in the reserve, but will defer to a proven and methodical approach to address the potential of asbestiform materials in the future mining permit application.

My question is this: why has the press continued to report that the presence of grunerite asbestos within the GTac mine site is a matter of debate? It is not.

The presence of asbestiform grunerite has been proven by multiple independent analyses, and can be documented by anyone who takes to trouble to walk the Penokee ridge. This is not a “he said, she said” story. It is not a story with two sides, at least not if those two sides are questioning if asbestos is or is not present. That is a scientific question, a question of objective fact, and it is a question that has been settled. The debate should be about the severity of the danger posed by the asbestos, which is not a settled question.

The GTac statement is not credible. It is either an outright lie or an expression of astounding ignorance and incompetence. Will the press report it as such, or will it continue to report it as one side in a controversy, and thereby help to maintain the muddled and confused state of public debate over the mining issue, a confusion that largely springs from the portrayal of objective reality as a matter of opinion? If GTac claimed that the Penokees were 6,000 years old, they would be no more unscientific than when they claim that the presence of asbestos is still an open question. In fact, their denial of asbestos is worse than creationism, because unlike the age of the earth, the presence of asbestos at the GTac mine site can be directly observed by anyone who takes the effort to carefully examine the rocks.
I repeat my offer to you or any other journalist: Let me take you up to the asbestos-bearing outcrops in the Penokees. Take your own sample, and send it off to an independent lab for analysis.

GTac is entitled to argue in favor of a mine. No reasonable person would expect them to do anything else. But GTac’s continued denial of the objective facts prevents any rational debate about the mine, and is frankly insulting to the scientists who have looked at the issue.

Kind Regards
Dr. Joseph Skulan

Video of a one-on-one meeting with GTac at the Ashland Library on November 13, 2013. GTac claims the confirmed presence of asbestos and sulfides are "media issues" and urged people not to listen to the "witchy" information given by several credentialed scientists. Video by Danielle Kaeding