LEWIS, N.Y. (AP) — In a ballot proposition that has split environmental groups, a mining company is asking New Yorkers to let it expand its pit mine into 200 acres of constitutionally protected Adirondack forest land so it can follow a vein of a white, crystalline mineral called wollastonite.
In exchange for the land and the ore beneath, NYCO Minerals Inc. proposes giving the state at least 1,500 acres of forest land if the wollastonite deposit is as rich as the company expects it to be. The number of acres would be greater than 1,500 if the state Department of Environmental Conservation determines that the royalty value of the wollastonite is more than $1 million.
While some environmental groups call it a good deal because it will preserve about 100 jobs and provide new access to mountain peaks and trout streams, others say it's wrong to amend the "forever wild" clause of the state constitution for the financial benefit of a private company.