Dear HCN,
Team Summo, as you refer
to us in your recent issue (HCN, 6/23/97), feels an obligation to
respond to your article which focuses on us and our exploration and
mine development activities in the central
West.
Gerald Nailor has a colorful past which
lends itself well to the human interest side of Ms. Abel’s story. I
regret Ms. Abel did not endeavor to learn more about the background
of any of the Team Summo players. She would have found an
interesting mix of education, environmental ethic, and pioneering
spirit, the elements which comprise the substance of the vast
majority of miners today. She might have discovered that it is a
love for a lifestyle outdoors and the opportunity to make a living
in remote and desirable locations that attracts people to the
mining business. Ms. Abel correctly quotes Mssrs. McPhee and Park
in acknowledging that economically viable mineral deposits are rare
and generally occur in isolated areas. We do not have the luxury of
moving them to areas deemed “more compatible” with other
functioning aspects of a healthy society.
True,
the life of a miner can be nomadic. In other circles this might be
viewed as romantic. The environmental author Wallace Stegner
chronicled the life of a miner as such in his novel Angle of
Repose. Though mining projects tend to be relatively short-termed,
they provide tremendous cash-flow into local communities ($20
million a year for the Lisbon Valley Project), which can be
invested by the local communities in housing and business
opportunities that can replace mining jobs once they are gone.
Mining represents a very real financial opportunity for long-term
prosperity in economically depressed areas.
I
leave to your subscribers and patrons to judge the merits of the
photograph gracing the cover page. Edward Abbey’s character
Hayduke, although perhaps a cult hero like Jesse James, advocates
criminal mischief, destruction of property, and trespass,
activities clearly outside the law. The railroad car which frames
Mr. Nailor used to be a drill core and sample storage facility
before it was raided and vandalized by unknown persons. Indeed
Hayduke lives, but I wouldn’t glorify such behavior. At Team Summo
we do not believe this is the appropriate way to resolve
differences of opinion among reasonable
persons.
You note the paradox in the difference
of public reception of mining in southeastern Utah and
north-central New Mexico. The reaction of residents near our
Champion property came as a surprise to us as well. We have since
identified this as a cultural difference. The people in
north-central New Mexico desire a more pastoral lifestyle, and in
many instances have fled the more contemporary lifestyle, although
they are not prepared to surrender the amenities which mining
provides to accommodate their standard of living. New houses under
construction on the Picuris Pueblo still use copper wiring for
lighting and appliances, copper tubing for plumbing, brass (50
percent copper) for fixtures and art work, and copper wiring still
powers their cars. The people in southeastern Utah (with a few
exceptions) have not disconnected their lifestyle from reality and
the source of the products which allow for that lifestyle. How many
of your readers are genuinely prepared to forsake the lifestyle
that enjoy to halt the growth of metal consumption, and therefore
mining?
Copper consumption in the United States
is increasing at 4.5 percent annually. Let’s assume for a moment
mining is incompatible with other land values in the Western United
States. Where do we go to produce the copper which society demands?
Would you advocate increased mining in the tropical rain forest of
the Amazon, the jungles of Kalimantan, or elsewhere? These areas
contain copper resources. From a global perspective, however, these
areas are significantly more sensitive environmentally than the
high desert and chaparral and fall under far fewer environmental
restrictions than exist in the United States. It is easy to demand
mining go elsewhere, and then ignore the consequences of this
position. Perhaps a dialogue and exchange of ideas and information
along these lines would help people understand the role of mining
in their lives, and the global impacts of the actions which they
advocate locally.
On the matter of Summo’s
geologic and groundwater investigations at Lisbon Valley, you are
mistaken. It appears you did not obtain and read a copy of the EIS
as I suggested to Ms. Abel. Summo’s understanding of the geology at
Lisbon Valley exceeds that at most mine (or other) development
sites. Summo has a dozen groundwater monitor wells on site and we
have been sampling groundwater since 1994 for baseline water
quality data. The groundwater at Lisbon Valley contains several
metals and compounds naturally which render it Class 3 and not
suitable for drinking water.
In summary, we
regret Summo was not afforded consideration equal to that offered
our opponents. Perhaps you might have seen the role of mining in
the West differently.
Gregory A.
Hahn
Denver,
Colorado
The writer is
president and CEO of Summo Minerals
Corporation.
The
writer responds
While I appreciate Mr. Hahn’s
lengthy response to my piece, I wish I had gotten that attention
while I was researching the story. When Summo didn’t show up as
scheduled at the Taos meeting, I called the company’s Moab office,
asking to meet with Bob Prescott, vice president of operations. He
told me I needed to clear this with Mr. Hahn, who told me I could
get all my information from the EIS, or by talking with spokeswoman
Karen Melfi. I wrote Mr. Hahn a letter explaining that what I was
looking for couldn’t be found in the EIS; I wanted Summo’s voice
and perspective in the story. A few weeks later, Ms. Melfi provided
me with some background on the company, but Mr. Hahn never spoke
with me again. When I called Summo to ask about the proposed land
swap, the company asked BLM director Mike Ford to return my call
instead. I’m afraid the bottom line in dealing with journalists is
this: If you won’t talk to a reporter, you’re not going to get in
the story.
Heather Abel
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Speaking up for Summo.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
