Scott Stalheim, member of the citizens group Friends of the Yellow River, said he’s uncomfortable with the challenges of drilling in wetlands. He said it’s hard to imagine that a mine would not damage the environment on public lands.
“A full-scale mine is not really compatible with other goals of the Forest Service or the Indian tribes,” Stalheim said. “I cannot picture it, but we also want to be monitoring as close as we can every step of the way.”
The Lac du Flambeau tribe previously challenged DNR approvals for drilling at the site due to concerns about irreparable damage to environmental and cultural sites. That case is still ongoing.
For future drilling, Donohue noted the company has yet to file a notice of intent to drill outlining its exploration plan with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The company plans to submit both a revised application for a federal permit and its plan to the DNR within the next couple months. He said they hope to obtain approvals by early next year and begin drilling shortly thereafter.
Molly Gardner, the DNR’s metallic mining coordinator, said it’s difficult to say how long its review may take without more details. Green Light Wisconsin has indicated drilling would occur during frozen ground conditions for sites located in wetlands, but Donohue said the company hopes to avoid them.
“Ultimately, the goal is to define the limits of this zone of mineralization and then start to evaluate it for its viability to be mined from an economic basis and an environmental basis,” Donohue said.
While permitting any mine is years away, Donohue said he’s confident the deposits are economically viable. He said the company would likely bring in another mining company to partner on developing any potential mine.
Metals like gold and copper that occur in sulfide minerals haven’t been mined in Wisconsin since the Flambeau mine shut down in 1997. That mine served as a catalyst for the state’s sulfide mining moratorium that was later repealed under a 2017 law passed by the Republican lawmakers and signed by GOP Gov. Scott Walker.
Democratic legislators have introduced a bill seeking to reinstate the law that required mining companies to show a mining operation had been safely operated and closed for 10 years without polluting the environment.
Canadian mining company plans to expand drilling in northern Wisconsin