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LOCAL POLITICS FEBRUARY 2018 • E&MJ; 43 www.e-mj.com Aquilla reported completing 4,500 m of core drilling since acquiring the site in 2011. Highlights include "3 m of 8.12 g/mt gold; 14.76 m of 14.41 g/mt gold and 0.30% copper, including 9.26 m of 21.28 g/mt gold and 0.33% copper; and 14.54 m of 3.23 g/mt gold, including 3.50 m of 13.05 g/mt gold." Aquila also has a stake in a deposit dubbed the Back Forty, which, while part- ly in Wisconsin, legally is under the juris- diction of the state of Michigan due to its location on a shared border waterway. Aquilla reported supporting the passage of the Mining for America Bill. "We applaud Gov. Walker and GOP leaders for driving the change to ensure mining companies can in- vest in exploration activities in Wisconsin," Chantae Lessard, director, social perfor- mance and engagement, said. "The 'Mining for America' bill will benefit the region with jobs and economic investment." Further, Lessard said, the company had "hoped the bill would pass because we believe it is good for the economy of Wisconsin." A boon to local economies, that is, only if those local economies can be brought on board, something that is not guaranteed. As soon as the bill was passed, local papers carried stories of the efforts of environmentalists and others to ensure the moratorium remained. While not stating outright that this is his goal, state Sen. Jerry Petrowski issued a press release two days prior to the gov- ernor's signing of the bill reporting that Petrowski shared the concerns of those fa- voring "solid protections for both the envi- ronment and the taxpayer." In the release, he highlighted his role in creating the amendments that, among other things, en- sure "that a mining company cannot avoid paying net proceeds taxes in Wisconsin or by selling or transferring ore to an out-of- state company." He reported furthering the amendment that "requires the (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources [DNR]) to determine whether they are reasonably certain that technology used at the pro- posed mine site will result in compliance with environmental regulations." Perhaps to clarify where he stood, he also reported that he was behind an amend- ment that allows "a judge to suspend op- erations at a mine during a contested case hearing on a mining permit," and one that delayed "the law's effective date to be six months after the publication rather than the day after." The latter amendment, he reported, "will give local governments am- ple time to update their ordinances and ensure the DNR is prepared." More specifically, he reported the de- lay is designed to "ensure local govern- ments have time to update their zoning and other ordinances to be prepared for any potential permit applications." According to the press release, former DNR Secretary George Meyer, the executive director of the Wisconsin Wildlife Founda- tion, said the amendments "along with the remainder of the current nonferrous min- ing law results in Wisconsin having one of the strongest nonferrous mining laws in the country and provides the DNR with the au- thority they need to assure that Wisconsin's natural resources will be protected." To ensure that locals are on board with furthering that, Petrowski reported having "been in touch with local government lead- ers" and having directed the "Wisconsin Counties Association and Wisconsin Towns Association, asking them to create model or- dinances for their members." To clarify his intent by this, Petrowski reported, "this will ensure they have ordinances in place in the event someone wants to mine in their area." The Wisconsin Towns Association (WTA) reported that its first step would be to launch education initiatives focusing on geology, law, and the successful operation and closure of Kennecott Mineral Co.'s 181-acre open-pit copper-gold Flambeau mine, located in the next county over from the Bend deposit. The pit, started in the mid-1970s, ultimately spanned 35-acres and hit a depth of 220 ft, according to DNR. It produced approximately 181,000 tons of copper; 334,000 oz gold; and 3.3 million oz silver. DNR described it as "the only example of a metallic mine that was permitted, constructed, operated and re- claimed under the state's existing regulato- ry framework." Reclamation activities were completed in 1999. Much of the property was re-wilded with certain buildings and a rail spur left in-situ "for use by another business," DNR reported. WTA reported the educational efforts will represent a "significant" resource investment and will likely launch in Jan- uary with a mining workshop co-run by the Wisconsin Counties Association. "The workshop will be followed with additional educational programs and materials to help towns contemplate the potential, prop- er, and improper use of local zoning and licensing ordinances," Mike Koles, execu- tive director, said. "Our goal would be to influence development of a regulatory envi- ronment in which willing citizens, local gov- ernment, and mining interests are afforded the ability to have a reasonable discussion about the opportunity to and what it would take to create a social license for mining." Poet Alexander Pope is credited with saying a little learning is a dangerous thing. In this case, a little public awareness and a few cloned ordinances may prove to be just the right thing to sufficiently stall de- velopment of Aquilla's projects or the other deposits in northern Wisconsin, and else- where for that matter. The effect would be a continuation of the moratorium. That moratorium could prove problem- atic to long-term national economic and security goals and strategies, mining sec- tor experts say. Seemingly synchronously, the day af- ter Scott signed the Mining for America bill, Luke Russell, vice president, external affairs, Hecla Mining Co., testified before the Senate Committee on Energy and Nat- ural Resources that "the U.S. has one of the longest permitting processes in the world for mining projects." Experts have identified permitting delays, he said, "as among the most significant risks and im- pediments to mining projects in the U.S." Those delays have real consequences, Russell said. "A typical mining project los- es over one-third of its economic value as a result of protracted delays in receiving the numerous permits needed to begin produc- tion. The longer the wait, the more the val- ue of the investment is eroded, even to the extent that the project ultimately becomes an unviable investment." That has rami- fications that ripple through the economy and impact national security, he said. "The United States is now import-dependent for 50 different metals and minerals — and 100% import-dependent for 20," he said. This trend line is exacerbated by the decrease in U.S. exploration activities that would precede new operations necessary to increase domestic mineral supplies, "A typical mining project loses over one-third of its economic value as a result of protracted delays in receiving the numerous permits needed to begin production."