The company that wanted to build a massive open-pit iron ore mine in northern Wisconsin has turned its attention to Michigan's Upper Peninsula. But it is leaving the door open to return to Wisconsin.
Gogebic Taconite President Bill Williams said the company has done exploratory drilling in parts of the UP and is studying those samples.
"We're out sniffing around and kicking over rocks, if you will," Williams said. "We've looked at the other end of the Gogebic Range. We've also gone a little bit farther, looking south of the Marquette Range."
Williams said it is all "early stage" stuff. Company officials still have to figure out the ore's quality and quantity, and the logistics of transporting the minerals. But he said the public opinion and political atmosphere are different in the UP than they were in Wisconsin.
"I would say you're not finding more support. You're finding less opposition," he said.
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Gogebic Taconite still holds options to lease minerals in the Penokee Range of Ashland and Iron counties. The largest of those leases still has about another year before it expires. Speaking from his office in Hurley, Williams said the Wisconsin leases aren't out of the picture.
"As soon as the core people or the core citizens of the group of that state start to feel comfortable enough to say, 'This isn't that bad; we can have some economic development and capitalize on our resource development,' then we'll answer that telephone call when it's made."
Williams said he likes Michigan's iron ore mining permitting process because it has definitive timelines.
Wisconsin Public Radio is heard locally on 91.3 KUWS-FM and online .
