Investors warn Chemours against future mining near Okefenokee

Editor’s note: Sept. 5, 2024, 7:20 p.m. This article was updated to correct the list of groups invested in Chemours.

As Georgia regulators continue to evaluate Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals’ controversial plan to strip mine near the Okefenokee swamp, a group of investors re-upped pressure on another mining company, Chemours.

The group of 20 investors, representing nearly $700 billion in assets under management, sent a letter to Chemours Wednesday requesting the company “make permanent its existing, near-term commitment to not engage in titanium mining, nor to purchase titanium mined by others, on Trail Ridge at the Okefenokee Swamp.”

The investors include three groups already invested in Delaware-based Chemours: Amalgamated Bank, the Felician Sisters of North America and an anonymous institutional investor based in Europe that manages about $600 billion in assets. The other 17  – including the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, Trillium Asset Management, and Green Century Capital Management – are potential investors “if the company were to improve its environmental profile,” said Annie Sanders, director of shareholder advocacy at Green Century.

Chemours spokeswoman Cassie Olszewski declined to comment on the investors’ letter. Chemours is a Fortune 1000 company valued at $2.76B.

Twin Pines’ plans

The Okefenokee Swamp is one of the world’s largest intact freshwater wetlands. Most of the swamp is protected in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge , the largest refuge in the eastern U.S. and home to hundreds of plant and animal species. The peat that lies under the Okefenokee stores massive amounts of carbon, making it important for climate stability.

Twin Pines Minerals, LLC has applied for permits to mine titanium dioxide outside the refuge on Trail Ridge , the swamp’s eastern hydrologic boundary. Scientists have warned that the mining threatens the integrity of the Okefenokee. They warn that altering the swamp’s water flow could lead to drought and wildfire that could destroy wildlife habitat, damage adjacent private timberland and release significant carbon emissions.

The state Environmental Protection Division released draft mining permits for the project in February, 2024. The public responded with more than 77,000 comments.

“EPD is currently reviewing and responding to the public comments received and will be publishing the responses in a response to comments document on the EPD website,” EPD spokeswoman Sara Lips wrote in an email. “There is no set date for when the document will be completed and ready for publishing. The next step following the response to comments document will be the final permit decision.”

The lull in visible activity on the permit is part of what prompted the investors’ letter.

“It’s a matter of trying to keep the issue alive and keeping awareness of it, because the EPD is dragging their feet on deciding on a permit,” said Sister M. Jean Sliwinski, sustainability coordinator with the Felician Sisters of North America in a telephone interview from her home in Buffalo, NY.

Targeting Chemours

As Twin Pines awaits its permits, there are signs the company is struggling.  It’s fallen behind in its property taxes in Charlton County. Last month the company owed $365,000 in taxes, including $55,000 in penalties and interest, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.

Unlike Twin Pines, Chemours already operates heavy mineral sands mines in Georgia with operations in Charlton, Wayne and Pierce counties through its subsidiary Southern Ionics. It boasts that it’s “the world’s largest producer of high-quality titanium dioxide,” which is the main target of Twin Pines’ proposed mining efforts.

The company also has a history with the Okefenokee. Chemours was spun off from DuPont in 2015. It was DuPont in the late 1990s that agreed to back off from a previously proposed mine near the Okefenokee, in part due to shareholder pressure.

“We’ve gotten wind of discussions that have been happening behind closed doors,” Sanders said. “Given that Twin Pines is a notoriously bad operator, there’s just a lot of concerns around their ability to operate this kind of mine well, and in looking around for buyers, Chemours would be a natural choice. And so we want to be clear that this would not be a move that investors would support.”

The investors are trying to head off the possibility of other mines on Trail Ridge.

“We’re still concerned about the fact that Twin Pines’ neighbors Toledo Manufacturing and Rayonier both have cause to either be interested in leasing their land or otherwise engaging with Chemours should the company decide to make a move here,” Sanders said.

In their letter, the investors say that mining or purchasing materials mined at the Okefenokee could expose Chemours to undue financial risk.

Green Century and the Felicians filed a shareholder proposal in late 2021 that resulted in Chemours’ 2022  pledge to refrain from doing business with Twin Pines for at least next five years. But the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this year quashed the groups’ next move to allow a vote on a shareholder resolution to make the pledge permanent. So they turned to the letter.

“At the end of the day, this is an issue and a concern that’s not going to go away. Investors remain concerned,” Sanders said. “They are increasingly concerned that the company is not doing enough to mitigate potential reputational, regulatory and legal risks stemming from the proposed mine and towards potential involvement in it. So we think that a permanent commitment is a logical next step and a prudent next step for Chemours.”

The Tide brings regular notes and observations on news and events by The Current staff.