Lake Superior Mining News

by Gabriel Caplett

In September 2008, Ottawa National Forest Ontonagon District Supervisor, Susan Spear, issued a “Notice and Finding of No Significant Impact” for Trans Superior Resources’ metallic mineral exploration project within the national forest’s boundaries. The project directly borders the federally-protected boundaries of the Sturgeon River, which is considered a National Wild and Scenic River. Trans Superior is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bitterroot Resources, located in Vancouver, Canada.

Bitterroot (Trans Superior) currently owns 363 square miles of mineral rights in Baraga, Houghton, Iron and Ontonagon counties. The Ottawa National Forest project encompasses roughly 2,330 acres.

According to Spear, the mission of the Ottawa National Forest is not conservation oriented but instead it is to “encourage, facilitate, and administer the orderly exploration, development, and production of mineral and energy resources on [national forest] lands.”

In addition to its metallic sulfide activities, Bitterroot also has uranium projects planned in the Upper Peninsula that are operated under a joint venture agreement with Cameco, considered the world’s largest producer of uranium.

In 2003, the joint venture began exploring 780 square miles of the Upper Peninsula for a high-grade uranium deposit, citing Kennecott Minerals’ success in locating its Eagle Project as the impetus behind its accelerated exploration. Bitterroot was previously involved in a joint venture with Kennecott Minerals in exploring for nickel, copper, platinum and palladium in the Upper Peninsula.

Although nearly 10,000 citizens have signed a petition opposing Kennecott Minerals sulfide mining plans, Bitterroot claims that, “recent meetings with representatives of Gogebic County and neighboring Ontonagon County have confirmed that mineral exploration enjoys strong local support in the western Upper Peninsula.”

On its website, Bitterroot had posted a link to a public health advisory. The advisory notes recorded levels of uranium in Keweenaw drinking water, flaunting to investors that uranium is present in the area.

In 2003, Bitterroot Resources entered into a partnership (option) agreement with Cameco Corporation to explore for uranium in the Jacobsville Basin of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Cameco has already experienced a documented transportation accident in the Upper Peninsula. On November 24, 2005, an RSB Logistics semi-truck wrecked on M-117, in Mackinaw County, Michigan. The truck was transporting low-level radioactive calcined mining materials for Cameco from Blind River, Ontario to Blanding, Utah. The driver drove into the ditch while choking on a piece of beef jerky. M-117 was closed to traffic between US-2 and M-28 while a Cameco hazardous materials team unloaded the cargo. The Michigan State Police noted that the incident caused “no known health threat.”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 28th, 2008 at 10:15 pm and is filed under cameco, Michigan, public land, uranium. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.