A mining company headquartered in Canada is planning to sell its interest in two gold and copper deposits in central Wisconsin, shifting its commercial interests to the Back Forty mine on the Michigan side of the Menominee River. 

According to a press release, Aquila Resources announced on Tuesday that it intends to sell the Reef deposit in Marathon County and the Bend deposit in Taylor County to a private company called "Newco." Aquila is selling its interest in these properties for more than $5.8 million. 

Related: As a Michigan judge postponed decision on key permits, the last forty mines were hit again

Guy Le Bel, the company’s president and chief executive officer, stated that the sale will provide the company with “meaningful upward Resources for Bend and Reef properties, because Aquila focuses on Back Forty development."

The press release stated that after obtaining the necessary approvals, Newco will be listed on the Canadian stock exchange TSX Venture Exchange. No other information about Newco was provided in the press release, and there was no online information about the company. 

David Carew, vice president of corporate development and investor relations, said in an email that no other information was available on Tuesday. As the company advances its agreement, more details will be announced within the next 45 days. 

DNR project manager Ben Callan said that the new company has not yet submitted an exploration permit application to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Aquila did not notify DNR to sell its interest, but there is no need to do so. 

According to DNR, the Bend deposit in the Chequamegon National Forest is about 19 miles north of Medford. It was discovered in 1986 and first drilled in the 1990s. It contains copper, gold and silver, totaling about 4.23 million tons of ore, which can be mined through underground mines.

According to DNR, Aquila has an exploration license issued by the Federal Bureau of Land Management and re-evaluated the deposit before selling it. Callan said the company also obtained an exploration license through DNR, which will expire at the end of this month. He said the company has not indicated that it will submit any exploration plans before the license expires. 

According to DNR, the coral reef deposit is located near Eau Claire Dells, on the outskirts of Wausau. The site was first explored in the 1970s and 1980s and is believed to contain gold. If the deposit is developed, it is likely to be an open pit mine. 

Since the end of the mining ban, residents near the coral reef have been opposed to the idea of ​​mining there. They believe that the mine may contaminate the Dale, a county park and natural area, thanks to the scenery of the Eau Claire River and its wooded hikes. Famous path. 

Aquila explored the Bend and Reef deposits in 2011 and 2012, but did not take further action since, in part due to the mining ban imposed by Wisconsin until the state legislature overturned the ban in 2017 and renewed interest in the state’s mining industry .

Related: "That's Our Holy Land": Wisconsin residents worry about exploration drilling near the Wolf River

Activists and organizations across the state continue to oppose new mining exploration or projects and seek to change state laws to make mining more difficult. 

Ron James, who participated in the boycott of mining, said that he believes that for those who love Wisconsin's forests, animals, and clear waters, the perspective of mining will not change. Even with a new company responsible for Reef and Bend, he did not see the end of the fight to stop mining. 

"The mines in Wisconsin will never have good social permits," he said. "We have clean water sources, and good hunting and fishing. The public's perception of these projects is always poor." 

The sale will enable Aquila to use all of its resources for the Back Forty project, which has made further progress in exploration and licensing. 

However, the project has encountered several setbacks in the past year. In April, the Michigan Circuit Court judge ruled that the 2019 decision to approve the Aquila mining license should be reconsidered. The judge instructed the company to provide more information in its license, including a record of concerns about groundwater models by the state environmental regulator. 

The April decision is related to the January Administrative Law Judge's ruling, which overturned the company's wetland permit. The judge stated that the permit submitted by Aquila did not provide reliable identification of the impact on the wetland and considered the application to be incomplete. 

The judge also stated that the company failed to provide a complete assessment of potential alternatives to the proposed plan because several alternatives offered, such as underground mines, did not include operating costs. 

Related: Michigan State Judge Denies Wetland Permit for the Last Forty Mine along the Menominee River

In addition to air permits, drainage permits, and dam safety permits, wetland and mining permits are two of the five key permits required to start the project. According to Michigan officials, mining permits and dam safety permits have not been issued to the company. The company has obtained air permits and drainage permits. 

The license issue was not the first issue the company faced. Since the potential mine is close to the Menominee River, activists have been opposed to the project from the beginning. Activists say that the mine and the river can only be separated by an earth dam, which can easily collapse. 

The mine occupies 83 acres and the pit area is 2,000 feet by 2,500 feet. The mine has an estimated lifespan of seven years and will produce thousands of pounds of zinc, gold, copper, lead and silver. The on-site processing plant will use flotation, separation and cyanide to crush and refine minerals and ores. 

An earlier study by the University of Minnesota-Duluth School of Business estimated that the mine will create about 250 jobs for federal, state, and local governments, $20 million in new taxes, and provide the state of Michigan with $16.5 million. Royalties. The research is underwritten by the company.

You can contact Laura Schulte at leschulte@jrn.com and @SchulteLaura on Twitter.