The controversial mine gets the go-ahead.
LANSING -- Kennecott Minerals has cleared another hurdle in its efforts to build a controversial nickel and copper mine on the Yellow Dog Plains of Marquette County.
Rebecca Humphries, the director of Michigan's Department of Natural Resources, late Thursday approved using 120 acres of state land for the surface facilities of the mine. She also signed off on the mine's reclamation plan at Thursday's Natural Resources Commission.
The mine still needs a permit approved by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, but Kennecott officials don't expect that to be a problem.
What could be more problematic for Kennecott is an attempt in court by opponents of the mine to stop the construction. Opponents claim the mine could damage the fragile environment of the Yellow Dog Plains.
"It is unfortunate that the DNR has forgotten the premise for which it was formed--to protect and conserve our natural resources for use by the public," said Cynthia Pryor of the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve. "This decision turns state forest lands into an industrial outlot and our region into a paradise lost."
Kennecott has said it plans to invest about $300 million in the development of the mine. It's hoping to start construction early this year and begin production in 2009.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forWLUC