Kennecott studies possible risks of sulfide mine

Marquette County, MI – Kennecott Minerals Company says it will do everything it can to prevent contamination, should it build a sulfide mine on the Yellow Dog Plains in Marquette County. Project manager Jon Cherry says Kennecott is finishing up engineering design studies and looking at environmental baseline studies, so it can begin to assess potential environmental impacts. He says if any impacts are identified, Kennecott can then design appropriate mitigation measures, or redesign the mine to minimize risks. Cherry says the earliest Kennecott would apply for a mining permit would be November of this year. If it gets through the permitting process, permits would normally be issued six to nine months afterward. Cherry says construction of the mine would begin in the third or fourth quarter of 2006 and last from 18 to 24 months. He notes if all proceeds smoothly, mine operations would begin in late 2008 or early 2009.