ATLANTA – Shareholders of The Chemours Company are urging the chemical producer to assess the impacts on ecologically sensitive areas before plunging into a mining project, a move aimed largely at plans to mine titanium near the Okefenokee Swamp.
Green Century, an environmentally responsible mutual fund, and the Felician Sisters of North America filed a resolution that received 6.4% of the vote at Chemours’ annual shareholder meeting this week. While that might seem a low number, it was enough to qualify the sponsors to re-file the resolution next year and is being seen as a victory.
“Chemours should more thoroughly assess biodiversity risks before they can’t turn back the clock,” Green Century Funds President Leslie Samuelrich said. “Since Chemours mines near ecological gems such as the Okefenokee Swamp, taking extra care to prevent irreversible damage to nature is a no-brainer.”
The shareholder resolution came during the same week groups of conservationists, religious leaders, and students wrote separate letters asking Chemours’ Board of Directors to make permanent the company’s 2022 pledge not to engage in titanium mining adjacent to the largest blackwater swamp in North America, either directly or through subsidiaries.
“Students have historically been a key force behind legislative action,” said Lily Mason, a senior at Georgia Tech and a leader of the Georgia Student Swamp Coalition. “Our hope is that by building awareness across Georgia’s college campuses, we can help secure protections for the swamp for future generations.”
The Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) has released draft mining permits to Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals for the 700-plus-acre first phase of a proposed titanium mine. Eventual plans call for opening an 8,000-acre strip mine along Trail Ridge on the southeastern border of the Okefenokee.
While Twin Pines officials have said the project would not harm the swamp, opponents cite research showing the mine would threaten the swamp’s water levels, increase wildfire risks, harm wildlife, and release toxic contaminants into nearby surface and groundwater.
Opposition to the mine has surfaced on several fronts. Members of the Georgia House of Representatives have introduced legislation during several recent General Assembly sessions – including this year – seeking to stop the mine. While more than 90 of the 180 House lawmakers have signed onto the measures, none have made it to the floor for a vote.
More than 150,000 comments opposing the project have been submitted to the EPD. Polling has shown overwhelming support for banning mining along Trail Ridge.
Other ammunition bolstering opposition to the mine includes the Okefenokee’s nomination to join UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Opponents also see a plan by the National Park Service to expand the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge as aiding their case.
Chemours signed an agreement in 2022 pledging not to engage in mining near the swamp and not to buy Twin Pines, which the Delaware-based company had been looking into acquiring. The announcement came in response to a shareholder resolution Green Century had filed the previous year.
Chemours has a history in the region, having spun off of DuPont in 2015, which proposed a strip mine during the 1990s near the swamp that failed to come to fruition amid strong public opposition.
The chemical company manufactures and sells “performance chemicals,” including titanium dioxide, a common whitener in products from toothpaste to sunscreen.
“I don’t think anyone would say that slightly whiter toothpaste is worth irreversible biodiversity loss,” said Annie Sanders, director of shareholder advocacy for Green Century. “We’ll keep pressing Chemours to ensure that it considers and protects biodiversity before mining starts. That’s what’s best for investors, customers, and the planet.”