Kennecott’s parent company says it’s here for a long time

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MARQUETTE - The chief executive of the Kennecott Eagle Minerals parent company said Wednesday the company's proposed mine on the Yellow Dog Plains would help make Rio Tinto one of the world's top nickel producers over the next decade.

Bret Clayton, chief executive of Rio Tinto Copper Group, said Kennecott's Eagle Project would be the first nickel mine in the United States and mark the first nickel production for London-based Rio Tinto, which is the 30th largest company in the world based on market capitalization.

Clayton - speaking to the Lake Superior Community Partnership and Marquette County Ambassadors Wednesday in Marquette - said in addition to the Eagle Project, Rio Tinto is developing other nickel prospects in Minnesota, Indonesia and southern Africa.

"When you put all those together you can see Rio Tinto being a top five nickel producer in the next decade or so," Clayton said. "We're very excited about the opportunities that we have."

The Eagle Project in northern Marquette County would be expected to produce about 15,000 tons a year for about eight years.

Clayton said Rio Tinto is the world's largest producer of aluminum, second-largest producer of iron ore, fifth-largest producer of copper and one of the top three or four producers of coal.

Worldwide, the company employs nearly 100,000 workers. Rio Tinto posted $34 billion in revenue last year and spent $8 billion in capital expenditures, of which, $2 billion was put into maintaining operations the company already has.

"We invest for the long-term and we want to come into communities and we want to be a partner for you, not for years, but for decades and that's the kind of relationship we want to establish," Clayton said. "We're very excited about the opportunity that we have to invest in the Upper Peninsula here in the region and be a part of your community."

Clayton said Rio Tinto's goal is to be a "partner of choice," working to always improve its reputation by "doing things to the highest standard."

"We want to be welcomed into communities because they recognize that we are a company that you want to work with and that will share values with you, that will listen and work with you and find compromises and solutions to problems that come forward," Clayton said. "And that's the kind of company we want to be and that feeds through to the values that we have in our organization."

Clayton said Rio Tinto believes "community engagement is very important and we think we've done a good job of that. But as I've challenged the people, we always need to do even better."

Clayton said he realizes Rio Tinto won't be able to "satisfy a hundred percent of the people all the time.

"But we will work to have an open door to work with people, to listen to their complaints, and try and resolve problems and issues. There are some that we probably can never bring them under our tent, but we will never give up trying at least."

Clayton said he is hopeful a current legal challenge to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality's issuing of permits for the Eagle Project will be decided in Kennecott's favor and the mining project can still begin later this year.

"We recognize that we have to go through the proper process and while we would like to have it to happen quicker, we want it to be done right and we respect that," Clayton said.

According to Clayton, Kennecott has $10 million worth of equipment ready to go with first production expected at the Eagle site in 2010.

Clayton said Rio Tinto and Kennecott don't have a problem with Michigan's non-ferrous mining law being the toughest in the country.

"We don't have a problem with that. We know the ground rules. We'll go through and we'll play by them and we'll live up to them," Clayton said. "They're the standards, to be honest with you, that we would carry out throughout the world in which we operate. So we don't have a problem with that."

Eagle Project Manager Jon Cherry said he was pleased Clayton was able to meet with community leaders in Marquette "to give a broader perspective of Rio Tinto and our operations worldwide and how Eagle fits into the bigger Rio Tinto picture."

Opponents of the Eagle Project were upset Clayton did not decide to meet with them to hear their concerns.

"Rio Tinto's decision not to meet with anyone knowledgeable about the proposed mine seems obviously calculated as nothing more than a PR opportunity," said Michelle Halley, an attorney with the National Wildlife Federation. "The company opted to meet with hand-picked community members who have been fed the sugar-coated version of the project from Kennecott since its inception.

"True to form, they chose a forum that excluded the public from attending, so concerned citizens weren't allowed to hear his presentation or express their concerns."

Cynthia Pryor, executive director of the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve, said she was among four Marquette County residents who went to London for a Rio Tinto meeting where company officials agreed to meet with them when they came to Marquette.

"Rio Tinto officials did not pay us the courtesy of informing us of their visit, much less keep their word to meet," Pryor said. "They have once again demonstrated their refusal to acknowledge the opposition to this project in the community."