NATURAL RESOURCES COUNCIL OF MAINE • October 21, 2021
In January 2020, Wolfden Resources, a Canadian company in massive debt and with no metal mining experience, submitted a rezoning petition to the Land Use Planning Commission (LUPC) for a metal mine at Pickett Mountain. Wolfden hopes to mine for zinc, lead, and copper on 528 acres near Mount Chase, not far from Baxter State Park and the Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument. After 18 months of requesting additional information from Wolfden, LUPC staff recommended the Commission deny Wolfden’s rezoning petition, “based on Wolfden’s continued failure to provide sufficient information for the Commission to make necessary findings within the applicable deadlines, as required by Chapter 4 of the Commission’s rules.” LUPC staff cited 59 inconsistencies and errors in Wolfden’s final September 1, 2021, petition filing. At its October 13 meeting, the LUPC was poised to take the staff’s recommendation and deny Wolfden’s petition. In the face of this, Wolfden instead withdrew its petition.