Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The exploration for gold, silver and zinc in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, only a stone’s throw from the Wisconsin border, is morphing into what could become a full-fledged mining operation.
On Monday, officials with Aquila Resources Inc., a Canadian mining exploration company, said they have found more evidence of large gold deposits on the Michigan side of the Menominee River.
With gold selling for nearly $900 an ounce, there’s an incentive to find new sources. Likewise, there are tight supplies of zinc, silver and other metals needed to make everything from automobiles to cell phones.
Aquila has been exploring for underground ore in the area since 2002 and has recently ramped up its operations near Stephenson, Mich.
“It has come to a stage where we have done so much work, and spent so much money, that it’s time to put it into the context of actual mining,” said Tom Quigley, Aquila Resources president.
“We are pulling back a little bit on exploration this summer and are starting to look more at engineering and the other aspects of bringing a mine into production,” he added.
The area that Aquila is working in, not far from Marinette, is rich in metals that have been buried in the earth for millions of years. But until 2002, a massive sulfide-rock deposit containing the metals was hidden under layers of other rocks.
Slowly, its content of zinc, gold, silver and copper has been revealed in core samples taken from deep underground.
The metals are within reach using a combination of sulfide and deep-shaft mining. That’s encouraged Aquila to take its plans to the next level — possibly seeking mining permits.
“Our goal is to stay on track advancing the project towards permitting in late 2009 or 2010,” Quigley said.
A newly discovered zone of near-surface gold has helped fuel interest in the project, although further tests will be required to determine its significance.
“We are hoping the continuity of this new zone of gold and silver mineralization holds together,” Bob Mahin, Aquila’s senior geologist, said in a news release Monday.
It could be several years before Aquila or another company establishes a mine on the 8,000 acres it controls near Stephenson — if it’s economically viable, and if Michigan grants environmental permits.
A group of area residents, including some from Wisconsin, object to the project for environmental reasons.
Sulfide mining is tricky because sulfuric acid is created when metals encased in sulfide rock are exposed to air and water. The acid water, much like battery acid, must be kept from leaking into groundwater, streams, rivers and lakes, where it could release heavy metals such as arsenic, mercury and lead.
Opponents have been organizing to block a mine, even though Aquila hasn’t applied for a permit yet. Already, they complain about the noise from exploration machines that run near their homes day and night.
“The company has no idea how intrusive this is for people who have moved here to get away from noise. It’s like putting up a factory next to a campground in Yellowstone National Park,” said Robin Bender, a Muskego resident with a northern Wisconsin home near the mining exploration.
Plans for a mine are “probably substantial,” said Deb Skubal, a mine opponent who lives on the Wisconsin side of the Menominee River, a short distance from where Aquila is digging for ore samples.
Wisconsin has no active metal-sulfide mine. The state’s strict mining laws, and public protests, have discouraged mine operators from coming here.
But anyone who relies on Lake Michigan for drinking water ought to be worried about contamination from a sulfide mine in the Upper Peninsula, Bender said.
In July, Aquila plans to release more information about its exploration results. Area residents have become more accepting of the project, partly because of the jobs a mine could create in an area with high unemployment.
“People are starting to realize it’s a serious potential development,” Quigley said.
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