MARQUETTE -- When it comes to mining sites in the U.P., the Yellow Dog Plains are not alone.  In fact, a dozen different places west of Munising are being actively explored for mineral bodies.  Is the Upper Peninsula going to see a resurgence in mining?  That question was the topic of tonight's Sierra Club meeting.

Until Kennecott, there hasn't been an active application for a new mine in Michigan for nearly 70 years.  However, we're about to have numerous applicants in the next 5 to 10 years.

According to Sierra Club forest ecologist Marvin Roberson, within the next decade, the western U.P. could be mined for everything from nickel, copper, to even uranium.  "The company closest to submitting an application after Kennecott is Aquila Resources; they're from Canada," says Roberson, "and they're exploring actively and mapping an ore body in the Menominee area near the border of Wisconsin."

Roberson says new technologies and rising mineral prices across the globe is the reason for the boom in mining.   But, even though mining in the U.P. may possibly bring more jobs and tax revenue to the area, there's no compromising when it comes to what it could do to the environment.

"Historically from the beginning right up to today, it has caused damage to water resources and to air resources, " said Roberson.  "If you go over to White Pine where there use to be a smelter, it looks like a moonscape because no trees grow over there anymore."

However, Roberson says it doesn't mean he will oppose every mine that comes up.  He believes that no one can rationally oppose every mine because we all use metal resources.  The big questions Roberson has are:  Where do you do it?  How does it get done?  What safeguards are in place?

Roberson said he is confident in Michigan's mining laws and feels if a company can meet those requirements then it's relatively protective of the environment.