Gogebic Taconite has formally notified the state Department of Natural Resources that the company is withdrawing from its controversial mining project in northern Wisconsin, the DNR said Friday.
The company, which closed its office in Hurley last month, has sent a letter to the DNR saying it is withdrawing from the pre-application phase of the project.
The DNR said the department will work with the company to ensure that the property is properly maintained. As part of its pre-application work, the company dug monitoring wells, built roads and removed small deposits of iron ore for testing.
The site of the proposed $1.5 billion open pit iron mine is in portions of Ashland and Iron counties, between Mellen and Hurley
Gogebic said it was pulling up stakes, in part, because the company feared that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would try to block construction of the project, as it did last year with a proposed gold and copper mine in Alaska.
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The EPA has disputed the concerns that were raised by the company.
The mine would operate over four miles on a hillside that runs along state Highway 77 in the two counties.
The DNR also said that property would be reopened to the public under the state managed forest law. Under that law, properties receive substantial property tax benefits in exchange for public access.
However, lawmakers tailored special rules for Gogebic to restrict access after protesters in 2013 began visiting the property, including one case in which mining property was vandalized and personal property was stolen.
