Kennecott is joined by at least three other companies exploring the U.P.
YELLOW DOG PLAINS -- Kennecott Minerals is looking beyond their Eagle Project nickel-copper mine on the Yellow Dog Plains. For the last several years they've had an active exploration program in the U.P.
Kennecott says it has six other high potential exploration targets within 50 miles of the Eagle Project.
"We haven't found any ore bodies per se, but these targets that we're looking at have the right geophysical and geological signatures that would cause us to want to drill holes into them," Kennecott Eagle Project Manager Jon Cherry said.
The renewed interest in the U.P. has to do with the high prices of metals like nickel and copper. Mining officials say if the price is right, it's only a matter of time before other ore bodies are discovered here.
"If this mine proceeds, it certainly increases the likelihood that future mines would proceed,” Michelle Halley with the National Wildlife Federation said, “and the U.P. would, in fact, become the world's next mining district."
Encouraged by Kennecott's progress, another company, Prime Meridian, is also looking for nickel and copper sulfide ores on the Yellow Dog Plains. The Canadian-based company declined comment for this story, but directed us to their Web site.
Their Baraga Basin Project has seven drill-ready targets, four of them near Kennecott's Eagle Project.
Prime Meridian’s other sites, according to their Web site, include the Bangston Project. It's located five miles south of Republic in southern Marquette County. It's a nickel-copper sulfide ore body they’re looking for there. To the west near the Baraga and Iron County line is their Wilson Creek Project, with the promise of iron, copper, gold, tungsten and uranium.
South of that site in Iron County, according to their Web site, and ten miles northeast of Crystal Falls, is their Kiernan Sills Project. There, too, they're looking at nickel and copper. Also in Iron County, their Norway Lake Project, they're looking for nickel. Finally, to Gogebic County and their Wolf Mountain Project, there, too, they're searching for nickel.
Another Canadian company, Bitterroot Resources, with its subsidiary Trans Superior, is focused on the Western U.P. They, too, referred us to their website.
Bitterroot is working with Cameco Corporation on a uranium joint venture. Bitterroot is proposing exploratory drilling in the Ottawa National Forest on the Gogebic and Ontonagon County line. According to the Ottawa National Forest, the target area is 3,000 acres near Matchwood Tower Road.
North of there, Bitterroot is searching for copper, nickel and platinum in Ontonagon and Houghton Counties.
In Menominee County, ten miles west of Stephenson is Aquila Resources. They're drilling now and considering building a mine in a massive sulfide ore body with zinc and gold deposits.
Read the first segment of this series.
Watch part 1 of Digging In.
Links of interest:
Kennecott Eagle Project
Aquila Resources
Prime Meridian
Bitterroot Resources
Save the Wild U.P.
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