For thousands of years Picuris Pueblo potters have
darkened red pottery with hematite and sparkled it with mica. Now,
a mine threatens this tradition. Tenfold expansion of a privately
owned mica mine near Peûasco, N.M. – not far from the proposed
copper mine recently dropped by Summo (HCN, 6/23/98) – would use up
the last known micaceous clay. The mining company says it needs
more mica to give flexibility and a paintable sheen to car fenders.
Traditional leader Joe Quanchello says losing the clay would
deplete the income of about 75 percent of the tribal members. To
expand its 25-acre mine, Franklin Industrial Minerals still needs a
permit from the New Mexico Mining and Minerals Division, says state
environmental engineer Brian Johnson. The Picuris potters have no
clout with the state, however. Proposals on private land in New
Mexico don’t require a review of cultural
impacts.
Engineer Johnson says comments about the
expansion are welcome; send them to Kathleen Garland, Director, New
Mexico Mining and Minerals Division, 2040 S. Pacheco St., Santa Fe,
NM 87505.
* Taffeta Elliott
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Mine fires up potters.
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