Mining company gets OK from state for exploratory drilling in Chequamegon Forest

MADISON - A mining exploration company plans to start drilling in the Chequamegon National Forest this summer in search of metals that potentially could be used to create green energy products, such as solar panels or electric vehicle batteries.

GreenLight Metals received permission to drill up to eight holes within the forest this summer and collect samples of the ground and the rock below, known as cores.

The company applied to start drilling last year but had to provide additional information to the DNR several times. The notice of the approval of the company's plans was issued May 4 by Molly Garnder, the metallic mining coordinator for the agency.

As a part of the approval, the company will have to ensure it is properly using water at the site and not pulling from nearby streams during drought conditions if they were to occur.

Other requirements include preventing erosion at any of the drill sites and protecting endangered resources.

"We're delighted that the approval was received because we worked hard with the DNR in terms of meeting regulations," GreenLight CEO Dan Colton said in an interview.

GreenLight still needs permission from the U.S. Forest Service, as the sites are within a national forest, Colton said. But once that permission is granted, the company will be able to launch its project, likely sometime this summer.

The Bend deposit, located within the Chequamegon National Forest, is about 19 miles north of Medford. It was discovered in 1986 and first drilled in the 1990s. It contains copper, gold and silver, totaling an estimated 4.23 million tons of ore that would be accessed via an underground mine.

GreenLight also holds the mining rights to the Reef deposit in Marathon County, just outside of Wausau. Drilling is also being pursued at that deposit, which likely contains copper, gold, silver and zinc. 

GreenLight also plans to eventually do exploratory drilling at the Reef deposit but will first focus on exploring the Bend deposit, Colton said.

Exploration at both sites would likely go on for years before opening a mine in either area would be discussed or permitted by state and federal agencies.

Previously, another company explored the Bend and Reef deposits in 2011 and 2012, but since then no further action has been taken, partially due to a mining moratorium in Wisconsin in place until the state Legislature overturned it in 2017, renewing interest in mining in the state.

Since the end of a mining moratorium, residents and environmentalists have pushed back against the idea of mining in the state, arguing that a mine could pollute water and air and cause other harms to the environment.

But Colton said that GreenLight and any company that might do the actual mining if minerals are located in the deposits would be good stewards of the environment.

"Twenty-first century mining can be done in a manner in which we protect the environment so we serve both environmental needs and protections, as well as producing metals," he said.

The metals produced could be used to fuel the change to green energy.

"These are the metals that are crucially needed in the manufacturing of these clean energy technologies," Colton said. "Wisconsin has an opportunity to be a source to secure supply chains for these technologies in the metals that are needed."

Laura Schulte can be reached at leschulte@jrn.com and on Twitter at @SchulteLaura.