GreenLight Metals
WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — A Twin Cities-based mining company is filing paperwork for exploratory drilling in Marathon County.
Green Light Metals formally filed their application on Thursday, and officials from the company say if approved they will conduct the drilling this summer. President and CEO Dan Colton says that will allow them to get more information on what’s there and if it’s worth extracting. “Based on the results of that drilling we may decide ‘you know what, we’re done here. There’s nothing here of economic value,'” said Colton. “On the other hand, the results might come back middling to great. In which case, we would do another round of drilling.”
If approved, Green Light plans to conduct the drilling this summer. Colton says this is just the first step of a multi-year process before the company would even begin to design a mining setup in the area. “Drilling as it relates to developing enough data to design a mine that protects the environment but is still economic requires significant amounts of drilling.
“Even if the results come back great, and they continue to be great I could see us drilling for 3-5 years,” he added.
If the company still sees value in the deposit at the end of that period, Colton says the process of engineering and designing the mining setup would take another two years or more. There are also economic assessments and pre-feasibility studies. After that, the actual mine application process would begin, which he says involves rigorous environmental analysis. “The US has the strictest, most stringent, and quite frankly most complicated environmental review and permitting process of any country in the world.”
In addition to the careful consideration for the environment, Colton says his company is committed to obtaining something he calls the “social license to operate” for the mine. “It’s another way of saying community acceptance. You don’t get that community acceptance without engaging your community and making sure you are addressing the issues that your community has and concerns the community has over the mine. Whether that’s noise, sound, or economic- what’s the benefit to our community?
“Who wants to operate a mine in an environment where everyone in the community hates you?” added Colton.
Colton says the company has opened a Wisconsin office with an address in Medford. Green Light secured the rights to the Easton deposit last winter from Aquila Resources.
Green Light is the first company to file for exploratory drilling since former Governor Scott Walker signed a bill lifting the state’s so-called mining moratorium in 2018.
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