Companies expected to apply for permits in the near future
MARQUETTE COUNTY -- For years, the Cliffs Natural Resources Empire and Tilden Mines in Marquette County have sat as the sole operating mine sites in the entire Upper Peninsula. That's all about to change.
There are several sites throughout the Upper Peninsula that are currently being or have been explored as potential mine sites by various mining companies. However, that doesn't necessarily mean they'll become mines in the future.
One thing is certain: we're seeing a significant increase in interest in Michigan's Upper Peninsula from mining companies.
"Metal prices fluctuate, sometimes dramatically," says Joe Maki of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. "That's going to dictate whether there is going to be a mine or not, and the prices in recent years have gone up apparently enough for many companies to get interested in doing exploration."
But before mining construction can begin, companies have to apply and be approved for a permit by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. Rio Tinto is the only company with an approved permit for their Kennecott Eagle Mine and Humboldt Mill. They're scheduled to produce nickel and copper ore by 2013.
Before companies can even apply for those permits, they must complete two years of site testing.
The DEQ identified two projects currently in that process: the Back 40 project, near Stephenson, mining for for gold and other minerals; and the Copperwood Project located near Wakefield, mining for copper. The company leading the Copperwood Project is Orvana US. President Bill Williams says they'll be applying for that permit for this summer.
"With the change in conditions in the market, the copper market; in general, there seemed to be a good opportunity to build a mine here," says Williams. "We're anxious to get the mine going in this area before considering reaching out any further."
Once that permit application is filed, it will go through a review and public hearing process.
"If we were awarded the permit, and the Boards of Directors approves to make the mine and everything comes together, once the mine is up and running, we estimate over 200 people would be employed," Williams says.
The DEQ says every mine is different, and it's hard to give a exact timeline, but it could take as little as one year for the permit application process to be completed once they are submitted. Orvana US is hoping for the application process to be completed 11 months after they file their application.
We tried calling the companies involved in the Back 40 project for an update, but so far haven't received a response.
What about the other areas? We found about a dozen potential projects listed on sites of companies like Aquila, HudBay, Prime Meridian, and Rio Tinto. Some locations have already been tested by the companies for minerals; others still await that process. At this time, it's unknown if they will become mining sites.
We contacted the companies for more information but haven't received a response from them at this point.
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