The Alabama-based company planning to open a titanium mine adjacent to the Okefenokee Swamp has not submitted $2.1 million in financial assurances required to get a permit from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division.
Georgia law requires applicants for surface mining permits to submit such assurances to the state to ensure they will have the financial wherewithal to complete site reclamation once they finish mining activities. The EPD sent a letter to Twin Pines Minerals (TPM) in February of last year requesting the financial assurances. However, as of last Friday, the company has yet to make even a partial payment or put up a partial bond, the state agency said Monday in a prepared statement. Twin Pines’ failure to deliver financial assurances on the Charlton County project comes as the company faces several lawsuits in other states alleging it owes millions of dollars in unpaid bills. Twin Pines declined to comment Monday on either the lawsuits or the mining project.
The project has drawn opposition from local governments in southeastern Georgia and environmental advocates, citing scientific studies showing the mine would damage one of the largest intact freshwater wetlands in North America by drawing down its water level.
