Okefenokee fans rally support again as mining plan nears final Georgia EPD review

Activists in the Okefenokee Protection Alliance are preparing for a fight this fall as Twin Pines Minerals gets ready to submit its application for mining near the Okefenokee Swamp. When the permit application is reviewed, the state’s Environmental Protection Division will open the public comment period for 60 days. (Photo by Joy Campbell)

A major hurdle could soon be cleared for Twin Pines Minerals’ controversial plan to mine near Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge three years after it was announced.

Members of a coalition of park supporters say they are rallying the public against plans that they claim would threaten hundreds of thousands of acres of wetlands.

The Alabama-based mining company pushing the plan says it is still putting the finishing touches on its permit application for Georgia Environmental Protection Division review. It aims to dig for titanium dioxide along 582 acres of Trail Ridge, located about three miles from the largest national wildlife refuge east of the Mississippi River.