Twin Pines’ financial woes stall mining permits near Okefenokee Swamp

Caption

Twin Pines' staging area in Charlton County in April 2023.

Credit: Justin Taylor/The Current

By Mary Landers — The Current

Twin Pines Minerals, the company waiting for more than a year for permission to mine near the Okefenokee Swamp, has not submitted evidence of financial reserves required to receive its permits, state regulators disclosed this week.

The news offers the latest window into the legal and fiscal challenges facing the Alabama-based company. It is fighting two separate lawsuits alleging breach of contract that could cost more than $30 million. Additionally, it’s still paying off $15,000 of its 2024 property tax bill to Charlton County where it wants to strip-mine for titanium and zirconium in the mineral-rich ridge of land east of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.

Republican lawmakers have quietly blocked efforts to prohibit mining activity in the area. But environmental groups, some state lawmakers and several national organizations continue to spotlight their opposition to Twin Pines’ plans. Opponents, including the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, argue that mining will likely disrupt the flow of water in the blackwater swamp, risking drought and fire in the largest wildlife refuge on the East Coast. 

The Georgia Environmental Protection Division, the agency in charge of mining permits, told The Current GA this week that the company, despite public statements attesting to its financial health, has failed to present the state a $2.1 million bond — the step necessary before state officials will advance a permit. 

“As part of the permitting process, applicants are required to submit a financial assurance mechanism of $2,500 per acre to ensure site reclamation,” according to Sara Lips, director of communications and community engagement at EPD,  “As of June 4, 2025, Twin Pines Minerals, LLC has not submitted the required financial assurance to EPD.”

Twin Pines declined to comment on EPD’s statement or on the company’s current finances. Last month Steve Ingle, the company’s president, told The Current GA, “Our mining plans are unchanged, and our finances are in order.  We are fully prepared to move forward when final permits are issued by the Georgia EPD.”

Danish, California companies sue

As Twin Pines’ activities in Georgia remain on hold, two lawsuits filed in Colorado and California within the last eight months provide insight into business practices mining titanium dioxide in other parts of the United States.

M&L Commodities filed suit in Superior Court of California in San Joaquin County in March for breach of contract and fraud. M&L had contracted with Twin Pines to handle and store titanium ore, from a mine in Ione, Calif., but the Alabama firm stopped making payments in early 2023, M&L alleged in its complaint.

The suit centers on a defaulted loan deal that Twin Pines struck with M&L in which the Alabama company used part of its Charlton County property as collateral, according to court documents. M&L is suing for compensatory damages of approximately $6.7 million and triple that amount in punitive damages.

Twin Pines has denied any wrongdoing, according to court documents. 

Joseph Martinez, the attorney representing Twin Pines, declined to comment further due to the pending suit. 

Meanwhile, last October a Danish shipping company, Lauritzen Bulkers, separately sued Twin Pines for breach of contract in U.S. District Court in Colorado. That suit, which seeks $9.4 million in damages, alleges that Twin Pines failed to nominate and load more than a dozen cargoes of titanium ore from California.

The suit is suspended while the contractually mandated arbitration takes place in London.  

Ingle told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution last year it sold its mining operation in Ione, Calif., to US Mine in late 2023 and no longer operates on the property. On Wednesday, Lauritzen filed suit in Utah to secure rights to a company-owned home listed for sale on Zillow for $1.2 million, arguing that would provide security for its claims in arbitration. Salt Lake County, Utah, records indicate Twin Pines is up to date on its most recent property tax bill of $5,685.

Allegations, criminal convictions

M&L, in its active lawsuit, has alleged that Twin Pines, four of its directors and/or executives, its parent company Greenfuels Energy and sister company Trail Ridge Land were undercapitalized and misrepresented their ability to pay the firm for work. One of those directors, Raymon Bean, died in early April after the suit was filed.

The court documents allege that the Alabama company missed a $3 million payment in August 2024. At the time, Twin Pines told M&L that the money “had been deposited into a bank account in China and would be wired to Plaintiff’s account the following day.” When payment didn’t arrive, Twin Pines repeatedly blamed logistical issues, according to court documents.

M&L, however, has alleged bad faith among the company and its managers and directors, including Joseph Vershish, whom court documents identify as the main contact with M&L since November.

According to the suit, Vershish had a previous conviction for the importation, possession, and distribution of Quaaludes. The court documents say that he violated parole for that conviction and was later convicted of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and false identification.

Martinez did not respond to a request for comment about Vershish. Efforts to contact Vershish were not immediately successful.

Area environmentalists, long mistrustful of Twin Pines’ statements that their finances are strong, say the allegations presented in the lawsuits and the company’s failure to provide bond to EPD should provide the state with more reasons to stop the permitting process. 

“These latest revelations confirm what we’ve known for 5 years, which is that TPM doesn’t tell the truth, honor its agreements, pay its bills, or follow the law,” Josh Marks, an Atlanta-based attorney who leads Georgians for the Okefenokee and who helped fend off DuPont’s mining efforts more than 20 years ago, said in a written statement. “And when you’re being sued for over $15M, are apparently in default of another $26M in loans, and can’t pay a $15K tax bill, that’s not exactly having your ‘finances in order;’ that’s the definition of a train wreck that shouldn’t be allowed within 100 miles of the Okefenokee.”

This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with The Current.