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Eagle asks state to lease U.P. acreage for mineral exploration

CHAMPION, MI--   Eagle Mine, LLC is looking to lease more than 15,000 acres of state-owned mineral rights in the U.P. for exploration. 

The acreage is in Baraga, Houghton, Iron, and Marquette counties.

Megan Morrison is Eagle’s Social Responsibility Advisor. She says the lease requests are just the first step in a several-step process to begin a formal exploration program.

“Currently there’s no definitive plans to actually begin an exploration process, so our goal is simply just to obtain the leases to be able to consider future options,” she says.

A parcel list showing the legal description of the lands is available at Michigan.gov/minerals, under Metallic Minerals Direct Lease Request.

A 30-day public comment period is now underway.  Comments can be sent to DNR-minerals@michigan.gov or mailed to DNR, Office of Minerals Management, P.O. Box 30452, Lansing, MI, 48909.

The state will consider public comment and make a final decision whether it will grant the leases to Eagle, and if there will be any restrictions to surface development.

Nicole was born near Detroit but has lived in the U.P. most of her life. She graduated from Marquette Senior High School and attended Michigan State and Northern Michigan Universities, graduating from NMU in 1993 with a degree in English.