Editor,
Recently Dave Noel shared a letter he sent to Sen. Tom Tiffany advocating for clean energy jobs and industries. Most people understand it to mean solar panels and wind turbines to produce electricity.

If Mr. Noel seeks to have those types of manufacturing jobs he should advocate for mining not against it because the minerals needed to make solar panels and wind turbines are right here in northern Wisconsin.

For example, do you know solar panels contain silver? Wisconsin has numerous economically recoverable mineral deposits that contain silver.

Do you know a wind turbine contains approximately 8,000 pounds of copper? Do you know a Toyota Prius, with its advanced technology that increases energy efficiency, contains 64 pounds of copper? Northern Wisconsin has rich deposits of copper.

Finally, Mr. Noel trashes the environmental record of the Flambeau Mine in Ladysmith. Obviously he has not visited the mine site nor reviewed the performance record of Flambeau. In fact, Judge Crabb – yes that Judge Crabb declared a few years ago that Flambeau has an exemplary environmental track record. By the way, she used the term exemplary. Plus, she declared the company deserved commendation not insults for their work reclaiming the mine site.

Don’t take my word for it. Review the court documents for yourself and if you really want to dig deep, consult with retired DNR mining expert Larry Lynch. He oversaw the closure of Flambeau.
Joyce Bant, Hazelhurst