In the 1960s, Reserve Mining was one of the largest mining companies in the United States, responsible for 11% of the total US iron production and almost 25% of taconite pellet production in the State of Minnesota. Reserve Mining rose to this position through the development of an innovative production process that created easy-to-store and ship taconite pellets from unprocessed taconite ore. The development of these pellets created surplus mineral waste, called “tailings,” that was then deposited at the bottom of Lake Superior. The environmental effects of these tailings on Lake Superior and the health effects they had on people who used water from the Lake became a major issue and Reserve Mining was eventually sued in Federal Court.

The journal Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology has recently published an article on the litigation history of this case that discusses the issues that were involved and summarizes the various rulings handed down.

Introduction to the Story

At the beginning of the iron mining industry, high-grade hematite ore was found in abundance and could be extracted from the earth and directly shipped to processing mills. However, as the industry grew and the demand for ore increased, hematite ore became more and more scarce and the ore that was left was relatively low-grade taconite ore, which required intermediate processing—known as beneficiation—before it could be shipped to mills for production. The beneficiation process created surplus mineral waste, called tailings, which had to be disposed of.

Reserve Mining grew to the position it did because of the work of Dr. E.W. Davis, the director of the Mines Experiment Station at the University of Minnesota, who developed a production process that created taconite pellets, which were more efficient to ship and easier for mills to use. Reserve Mining received a permit to build a taconite processing plant on Lake Superior and quickly grew from there.

In the early 1960s, the environmental effects of Reserve’s use of Lake Superior became an issue. By the end of the decade, Reserve found itself in state court fighting new water regulations that it claimed would force it to shut down and then, in 1972, it was sued by the EPA in federal court for violation of federal and state water standards. During this time, the discovery of asbestos-like materials in both the water supply of those who used water from Luke Superior and the air around the taconite mines and processing plants created a sense that Reserve Mining was poisoning the health of thousands of citizens.

The Federal Cases

Reserve Mining lost badly in the first round of the federal case, as Judge Miles Lord ordered in 1974 that its processing plant had to immediately cease depositing the taconite tailings into Lake Superior, meaning the plant itself would have to close. This order, however, was stayed and the Appeals Court gave Reserve Mining time to develop an on-land processing system.

One of the major issues involved with the case had to do with the health effects of the taconite that was being processed. As the structure of the taconite that Reserve Mining processed appeared similar to amosite, many people were rightly concerned that it could have the same carcinogenic properties that asbestos had. However, as asbestos disease is a disease of latency they couldn’t make those determinations then. A number of other issues were raised about fiber length and exposure levels, but these, too, were left unanswered.

The case was eventually settled in 1982, with Reserve Mining agreeing to pay $2 million to Duluth, MN and its surrounding communities. In its settlement, Reserve Mining did not admit any wrongdoing.

Conclusion

The Reserve Mining case was notable for a number of reasons, but most directly because the rulings raised important questions about the role between science and industry. The authors of the article note that we are now in a time where many of these questions can be answered and they advocate a new look at this important case.

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