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MARQUETTE — The Marquette County Board expressed support and encouragement for Kennecott Mineral Company’s plans to reuse the abandoned Humboldt mill.


Kennecott would use the facility to refine rock from its proposed Eagle Project mine on the Yellow Dog Plains.


While the county board has not gone on record specifically supporting the Eagle Project, it has officially given its backing to mining operations that comply with state and federal laws and regulations.


During its regular meeting Tuesday night, board Chairman Gerry Corkin read a letter addressed to Eagle Project Manager Jon Cherry stating the county’s support for the Humboldt project.


In the letter, Corkin said renovation of the Humboldt mill would “reuse an abandoned industrial site, create jobs, reduce the total mass of rock sent to processors in Canada, and reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by 65 percent.”


The site cleanup and rehabilitation effort would cost $80 million and would be paid for by Kennecott.


“They would do a lot of environmentally friendly things by cleaning up the site,” Corkin said.


Corkin added that about 100 construction jobs and 50 full-time jobs would be created by the project.


“This would certainly add value to the product and possibly create 50-plus additional jobs plus additional tax base for Marquette County and Humboldt Township,” he said.


Corkin also said the site could possibly be used as a regional mineral processing site in the future, as other mining sites continue to be discovered throughout the Upper Peninsula.


“There are other places in the U.P. where precious metals have been discovered,” he said. “There was a significant discovery down near Carney. It’s possible that Humboldt mill could be used for processing for these sites, too.”

 

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