Gogebic Works On Water Needed For Mine Proposal

The company that wants to mine iron ore from the Penokee Range in far northern Wisconsin has struck a tentative deal to pipe in water from Upper Michigan.

Gogebic Taconite has put its mining plans on hold while the Legislature considers streamlining state mining regulations. The Legislature’s budget committee is expected to vote next week on a bill designed to jumpstart Gogebic’s plans.

The mining company continues to work on plans to get the water it’ll need to process ore into taconite. The option is for 1.2 million gallons of water a day from the city of Ironwood, Mich. — 22 miles from the mine site near Mellen.

Ironwood water and sewer manager Bob Turvonen said the capacity to produce 3.7 million gallons a day is there, so the opportunity would be a good revenue generator for the community.