By Michele BourdieuThe scenic Menominee River, not far from the proposed Back 40 mining project site. (Keweenaw Now file photo)MENOMINEE COUNTY, Mich. -- Public concerns about a Metallic Minerals Lease Request from Great Lakes Exploration, Inc., of Menominee, Michigan, caused the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to postpone a public meeting on the application that had been scheduled for Sept. 1, 2021, in Stephenson, Michigan. The meeting will now be held as a virtual public informational meeting from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. (ET) / Noon to 3 p.m. (CT) on Thursday, October 28, 2021.
Great Lakes Exploration, Inc., has requested direct, metallic mineral leases from the state of Michigan covering DNR metallic mineral rights located within Faithorn Township and Holmes Township, Menominee County, Michigan, containing 1609 acres, more or less.
Great Lakes Exploration is applying for metallic mineral leases on the 40-acre parcels -- each marked with an "M" -- shown on this map. The parcels are in State of Michigan forest land for which the State owns the mineral rights as well. The larger group of 28 parcels on the right (east) totals 1089 acres in Faithorn township (some of the 40s are a little less than 40 acres, hence the smaller total). The smaller group of 13 parcels (west) totals 520 acres in Holmes Township. Click on map for larger version. (Map courtesy Dave Blouin, Mining Committee chair, Sierra Club - WI Chapter)
According to Dave Blouin, Mining Committee chair, Sierra Club - WI Chapter, "The two sets of parcels are due west of Nadeau, MI, in Menominee County and approximately 7 and 10 miles from Nadeau respectively and lie between the Menominee and Little Cedar Rivers. The eastern parcels are just east of DeHaas Creek and the western parcels are on Pemene Creek. DeHaas Creek flows into the Pemene which then flows into the Menominee. In other words, the parcels lie on or are adjacent to tributaries of the Menominee."
According to the DNR Public Notice, the parcels containing these state mineral rights are described as follows:
Leasable Development
W1/2 NE1/4, SW1/4 NW1/4,Section 7, T37N, R27W (115 acres m/l)
Leasable Development with Restrictions
E1/4 NE1/4, N1/2 NW1/4, SE1/4 NW1/4, SE1/4, N1/2 SW1/4, SW1/4 SW1/4, Section 7, T37N, R27W (466 acres m/l)
NE1/4, NW1/4, N1/2 SE1/4, SE1/4 SE1/4, N1/2 SW1/4, Section 18, T37N, R27W (508 acres m/l)
NE1/4, NW1/4, N1/2 SE1/4, N1/2 SW1/4, SE1/4 SW1/4, Section 22, T37N, R28W (520 acres m/l)
If approved by DNR, a lease to Great Lakes Exploration, Inc., would
grant the exclusive right to explore for the presence of metallic
minerals in described areas. While a lease alone does not grant a lessee
a right to mine, it allows the first step in a process where the
intended result is a metallic sulfide mine.
Interested parties may join the Oct. 28 virtual public meeting by going to https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/2993742981406093839.
Based upon the necessary technology to conduct a virtual meeting and offer two-way communication for public comment, registration is required for those who desire to provide public comment during the meeting. Anyone wishing to participate in the public comment portion of the meeting will be allowed two minutes to speak. Should you not want to provide public comment and desire only to observe the meeting anonymously, or if you do not have internet access, please use this phone option by dialing 1(562)247-8422 and using access code 643-125-236. This meeting will be recorded and the recording will be made available to the public on the DNR website.
According to Ken Babcock, property analyst in the Michigan DNR Lease Management Unit, Minerals Management Section, an additional two weeks for public comments has been allowed. Anyone who would like to submit comments may do so by sending them by November 11, 2021, to DNR, Minerals Management Section, P.O. Box 30452, Lansing, MI 48909 or emailing them to DNR-Minerals@michigan.gov.
Dale Burie, president of the Coalition to SAVE the Menominee River, which has opposed the Back 40 mining project that was proposed to be located not far from these areas, stated the Coalition's opposition to this request, as follows:
"Great Lakes Exploration, owned by Tom Quigley, has submitted an application for exclusive rights to explore '1,609 acres, more or less' for the presence of metallic minerals. If this application is approved, all landowners will again be
subjected to massive drilling of test holes on State land to determine the viability of sulfide mining.
"Let us learn from history: Tom Quigley performed the test drilling on the Aquila properties, which to this day have not been properly abandoned and sealed, creating potential contamination sites for underlying water aquifers.
"When Mr. Quigley brought in Aquila Resources, they proceeded to sell their stock to area residents, promising huge profits, financial gains for businesses and schools, and temporary jobs. They continued to pull millions of dollars out of this region from residents’ pockets, savings and retirement accounts. Most recently, Aquila stock price was $.06 cents a share.
"If Great Lakes Exploration is granted this Mineral Lease from the State of Michigan, it will be a pre-cursor of more of the same rhetoric, and history will repeat itself.
"We stand opposed to granting this Mineral Lease to Great Lakes Exploration."
The Coalition has encouraged concerned citizens to attend the public meeting or to write to the DNR at the above address or email to express their views.
Al Gedicks, emeritus professor of environmental sociology at the University of
Wisconsin-La Crosse and executive secretary of the Wisconsin Resources
Protection Council, who has spoken out against the Back 40 mining project at several public meetings, has warned against the danger of the giant tailings pile proposed for the mine.
"Tom Quigley’s application for a mineral lease would extend sulfide mining in Menominee County," Gedicks says. "The dirty secret of the Back Forty proposed mine and any extension of sulfide mining in Menominee County is that 98 percent of the rock ends up as acid-generating waste in the form of waste rock and tailings that will be placed in a gigantic tailings dam over 100 feet high and covering an area over 100 acres (Aquila Resources, Part 315 Dam Safety Permit Application, Back Forty Project, November 2020)."
Informational slide show in Marinette, Wis.
An informational slide show presentation by Natalie Lashmet, a volunteer for the Coalition to SAVE the Menominee River, will be held in Marinette, Wis., for those able to attend in person, at 11 a.m. (CT) on Oct. 28, one hour before the public meeting, at NWTC MARINETTE, 1601 University Drive, Marinette, Room MN SC 101P, right inside front door # 22. The online public meeting will follow at Noon (CT), but persons in attendance at this location will only have a listening session. Those wishing to comment must register online for the virtual meeting (see above).
