Dear Editor, 

While Dick Yarbrough has written several excellent pieces critcizing the proposed Okefenokee mining, this week he takes a strange detour by allowing one of the most powerful mining advocates to distort the truth. Joe Hopkins, whose company owns over 30,000 acres along the swamp’s edge, has given thousands of dollars to Governor Kemp. The goal, in part, has likely been to convince Kemp to issue permits to Twin Pines Minerals for its mining project immediately south of Hopkins’ land, which could then be expanded onto his holdings. That would realize a nearly 30-year-old dream, as he leased 23,000 acres to DuPont Chemical in the 1990s for a massive =tanium stripmining operation that would have devastated the swamp. I was part of the team that persuaded DuPont toabandon that risky project.

In 2015, DuPont spun off its titanium mining business into a new company called Chemours, which appears to be trying to mine along Okefenokee again. Chemours bought an existing titanium mine elsewhere in Georgia in 2019, and also has a long-time rela=onship with Twin Pines. So, if Twin Pines gets permitted, the next step would be for Chemours to buy Twin Pines too.

Hopkins said he’s “met with Chemours” without disclosing he leased them land when they were DuPont. That’s deceptive at best, and is like me saying I’ve “met” with my family prac=ce doctor when actually I’ve been seeing him for 20 years.

Hopkins is also wrong in discussing the impacts of mining. Scores of independent scientists say mining will triple drought frequency at the swamp and increase the risk of catastrophic fires.

Finally, he’s completely wrong on the constituional question. Prohibiting mining wouldn’t violate his constitutional rights. It would be like any other zoning ordinance that protects the community from development. If I can’t put a

chicken house in my backyard in Atlanta doesn’t mean my constitutional rights have been violated. Hopkins could still use his land for timber and residential development as he’s done for decades, which has made him a multi-millionaire.

The truth is the Okefenokee is priceless to all Georgians, and no super-wealthy person should be able to risk it to become even richer. Instead of listening to one timber baron, Governor Kemp should follow the science, law and public will and say no to mining along the swamp’s edge for good.

Josh Marks

President

Georgians for the Okefenokee