TRAVERSE CITY -- A proposal for a new nickel and copper mine in Michigan's Upper Peninsula won approval from state environmental regulators Friday, but opponents said they would continue fighting the project.
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality said it was granting three permits sought by Kennecott Minerals Co. to operate the mine in the Yellow Dog Plains section of northern Marquette County.
The remote area is prized for its forest trails and trout streams. Critics fear the mine would pollute ground and surface waters, but supporters say it would be strictly regulated and boost the local economy. It would provide 120 to 150 jobs, Kennecott says.
Known as the Eagle Project, the mine targets an underground ore deposit expected to yield up to 300 million pounds of nickel and about 200 million pounds of copper, plus smaller amounts of other metals.
It would be Michigan's first nickel mine, and the only U.S. mine where nickel is the primary mineral generated instead of a byproduct from extracting other minerals. Michigan has a long copper mining history dating to the mid-1800s, although its last copper operation closed in 1995.
Eagle Project manager Jon Cherry said Kennecott hoped to begin the two-year construction phase this spring. The mine would operate about seven years, after which the company would restore the grounds to their previous condition.
"We are very pleased that our efforts over the last several years to work with regulators and many parties in the community to develop a good, environmentally responsible project have been realized," Cherry said.
Kennecott, based in Salt Lake City and a subsidiary of the London conglomerate Rio Tinto Group, must clear other hurdles before breaking ground.
Its plan for aboveground operations needs approval from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Also, the company wants to lease 120 acres of state land for surface facilities such as a rock storage area and a wastewater treatment plant.
The DNR is expected to rule on those matters Jan. 10. It requested more information from the company in a letter last week.
The project also needs a groundwater discharge permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, for which Kennecott applied earlier this year.
But critics said they weren't abandoning the battle against DEQ approval of the state permits for mining operations, air quality and water quality. A coalition of six groups said they were reviewing options such as appealing within the department or filing a lawsuit.
The permits are the first issued since the Legislature approved a nonferrous underground mining law in 2004. The DEQ issued regulations to carry out the law in 2006, describing them as among the nation's toughest.
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