Gogebic County, MI – (Great Lakes Radio News) – Exploratory drilling for copper has begun on a portion of the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park in Gogebic County.
The drilling is being done on a 1-mile-square piece of property situated along the westernmost edge of the park.
The D-N-R issued a use permit to Orvana Resources U.S. Corporation, a subsidiary of Highland Copper, to conduct the drilling into early March.
If the exploration garners positive results for suitable copper, Highland Copper would conduct a feasibility study of mining the deposit by underground methods from land it owns outside the park.
Any potential mining would require a separate regulatory process through the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.