NPR: “Environmental groups in Georgia are celebrating a big win after years of fighting a proposed mine next to one of the largest protected swamps in the U.S. Marisa Mecke from member station WABE reports on the fight over the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.
…Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals owned the ridge right next to the swamp. It applied for permits with the state of Georgia in 2019 to mine titanium dioxide there. It’s a whitening pigment used in paints and foods. Scientists argued digging into the ridge along the swamp would lower the already very shallow water levels and dry up fire-prone areas. Josh Marks, who runs Georgians for the Okefenokee, says the last six years have been a long fight with the state and the company over the permit applications….
Court documents show the company denied some of the allegations, and it didn’t stop the state from working with Twin Pines on the permitting process. On the federal level, wetland protections were weakened under the first Trump administration, which also applied to the Okefenokee. When it seemed inevitable that a permit would soon be granted, Twin Pines last month decided to sell the land to the Conservation Fund, which buys environmentally sensitive properties. Twin Pines declined to comment on the sale. Funderburke negotiated the deal, which includes the mining rights.”