GOGEBIC COUNTY, MI-- Copperwood Resources says it has completed winter exploratory drilling at Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park.
The company began drilling test holes for copper in February in a one-mile section of the westernmost portion of the park. It wants to determine if the eastern extension of a mineral deposit first explored in the 1950s might feasibly be mined. That could potentially enlarge the Copperwood Project beyond its currently permitted boundaries.
Copperwood Resources was ordered to pay $25,000 last year as part of an administrative consent order because of environmental damage done during a spring thaw last April.
Officials say winter conditions allowed them to finish all eight current drill holes by March 29. They say each hole was cemented upon completion, timber matting was used to prevent ground disturbance at one site, and reseeding will take place where needed when the ground thaws this spring.
