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Gogebic Taconite Slows Mining Field Work in Northern Wisconsin

S Bence

The Florida company interested in mining iron ore just south of Lake Superior says field work at the site has stopped, at least for now.

GTac spokesman Bob Seitz says its surveyors have found many more wetlands in the area than anticipated, and the company is concerned about federal agencies imposing severe restrictions on a mining project.

So for now, Seitz says GTac continues analyzing samples and data that workers gathered this past summer.

He adds, that the company is not abandoning the proposed project but could make it smaller in scope, by perhaps extracting ore only from Iron County and not from neighboring Ashland County.

The proposed four-mile open pit mine remains divisive. Supporters cite the jobs and economic activity a mining operation could create. Opponents worry about irreparable environmental damage.

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