Conservation group makes $60M land deal to end mining threat outside Okefenokee Swamp

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A conservation group said Friday it has reached a $60 million deal to buy land outside the Okefenokee Swamp from a mining company that environmentalists spent years battling over a proposed mine that opponents feared could irreparably damage an ecological treasure.

The Conservation Fund said it will buy all 7,700 acres (31.16 square kilometers) that Alabama-based Twin Pines owns outside the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in southeast Georgia, halting the company’s mining plans.

“It’s a big undertaking, but it was also an existential threat to the entire refuge,” said Stacy Funderburke, the Conservation Fund’s vice president for the central Southeast. “We’ve done larger deals for larger acres, but dollar-wise this is the largest deal we’ve ever done in Georgia.”

A Twin Pines spokesman did not immediately respond to an email message seeking comment.

Twin Pines of Birmingham, Alabama, had worked since 2019 to obtain permits to mine titanium dioxide, a pigment used to whiten products from paint to toothpaste, less than 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the southeastern boundary of the Okefenokee refuge near the Georgia-Florida line.

The Okefenokee is the largest U.S. refuge east of the Mississippi River, covering nearly 630 square miles (1,630 square kilometers) in southeast Georgia. It is home to abundant alligators, stilt-legged wood storks and more than 400 other animal species.

The mine appeared to be on the cusp of winning final approval early last year. Georgia regulators issued draft permits in February 2024 despite warnings from scientists that mining near the Okefenokee’s bowl-like rim could damage its ability to hold water and increase the frequency of withering droughts.

Twin Pines insisted it could mine without damaging the swamp. Regulators with the Georgia Department of Environmental Protection agreed, concluding last year that mining should have a “minimal impact” on the refuge.

The agency revealed recently that work on final permits had stalled because Twin Pines had yet to submit a surety bond or equivalent financial assurance to show that it had $2 million set aside for future restoration of the mining site. It said the company was informed of the requirement 16 months ago.