Al Jazeera Will Do Documentary On GTAC Mine Battle

The global television network Al Jazeera is doing a documentary on the battle over the proposed open pit iron mine in northern Wisconsin.

Al Jazeera America correspondent Josh Rushing says there’s a lot on the line in the Penokee Hills.

“The stakes are very high – the economic stakes for what it would bring to the area, or environmental stakes for what it could do to the area,” said Rushing.

Rushing said the fight over what could be the largest iron ore mine is more than economic: It’s also a cultural clash lead by the Lake Superior Ojibwe bands.

“They’re a part of the American landscape and honestly, they’re a part that you also wouldn’t know they’re there if you just watched mainstream media,” said Rushing.

Rushing and Milwaukee-based producer Brad Lichtenstein have been working on the documentary for the Al Jazeera program “Fault Lines” for several months. Lichtenstein says they spent more than two hours with Gogebic Taconite (GTAC) spokesman Bob Seitz.

“When I saw him there with his young son, it changes the context a lot,” said Lichtenstein. “You realize from his perspective too, it’s also about future generations. So, when we go up there, what we discover is a world where the stakes are enormously high and people’s connection with what’s going to happen up there is deeply emotional.”

Another compelling aspect is the man behind the curtain, coal magnate and owner of GTAC Chris Cline.

“Cline in the media is known as King Coal,” said Lichtenstein. “(He) has mining interests all over the world. He’s the largest operator in mining, so what’s happening here is part of a much bigger picture.”

While a specific air date for the half-hour documentary hasn’t been set, it will air in the summer or fall on Al Jazeera America and English networks.