Oneida County shoots down mining resolution as companies express interest in sulfide mine

The Oneida County Board of Supervisors shot down a resolution Tuesday that would have allowed a county committee to consider unsolicited requests from mining companies to explore or mine on county-owned land.

The board voted 13-6 in opposition of the resolution. Two board members were absent. But state statutes and the county’s metallic mining ordinance already grant authority to vet such requests as two Canadian mining companies have expressed interest in the county’s Lynne deposit, which contains 5.6 million tons of primarily zinc, lead and silver.

More than two dozen county residents voiced opposition to the resolution, citing concerns about environmental damage and water contamination from mining. They highlighted a nonbinding referendum in 2018 where 62 percent of voters opposed leasing county lands for mining in the town of Lynne, which is about 30 miles west of Rhinelander.

“Not only did the township of Lynne not want this mine, the people in Oneida County did not want it,” Lynne Town Chair Jeff Viegut said.

Jill Hunger, who lives in the town of Minocqua, said there are many reasons why county officials shouldn’t entertain interest in mining the Lynne deposit.

“It’s adjacent to the Willow Flowage,” Hunger said. “The Willow Flowage is a 6,000-acre lake that is rated as an outstanding water resource.”

Hunger also questioned the effects mining could have on tourism and recreation, which brings in hundreds of millions of dollars to Oneida County each year. Lac du Flambeau tribal officials also objected to the resolution. In a letter, the tribe said it “remains opposed to any mining considerations in the Town of Lynne.”

Interest from 2 mining companies prompted resolution

Oneida County Board Chair Scott Holewinski said he brought the resolution forward after he and county board supervisor Bob Almekinder received multiple inquiries from Vancouver-based Valhalla Metals beginning in June. In a June 15 email obtained by WPR, Valhalla Metals Chair Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse said he wanted to organize a meeting to discuss leasing the Lynne “massive sulfide project” to explore and possibly develop critical metals.

“I look forward to entering into a discussion on how we can work together to develop the (Lynne) project in an environmentally sound manner and one that will not be disruptive to the surrounding communities,” Van Nieuwenhuyse wrote.

The Valhalla executive said the company would mine the ore underground with “minimal surface disturbance” and use state-of-the-art technology to upgrade the ore before transporting it to an existing processing facility. Van Nieuwenhuyse said a sister company Contango Ore, Inc. is applying that approach with projects to mine gold in Alaska.

Mining companies have expressed interest in tapping the state’s sulfide-bearing ore bodies since Republican lawmakers lifted the state’s sulfide mining moratorium in 2017. The moratorium required companies to prove other mines operated and then were closed for 10 years without causing environmental harm. Metals like gold and copper that occur in sulfide ore bodies haven’t been mined in Wisconsin since the Flambeau mine shut down in 1997.

The Lynne deposit has also generated interest from Toronto-based GreenLight Metals. On Aug. 12, Holewinski said he and one of the county board’s vice chairs, Russ Fisher, met officials with the Wisconsin Counties Association and Steve Donohue, a director with the company’s board, in Madison.

Holewinski said they discussed the proposed resolution, the county’s metallic mining ordinance,  the history of the Lynne deposit and other mineral deposits in northern Wisconsin.

“I told them I wanted to get the will of the current county board before any formal discussion about the Lynne deposit should move forward,” Holewinski said.

While Holewinski said he was trying to be transparent, Oneida County Board Supervisor Steve Schreier called his conduct unprofessional.

“It appears that it took you almost two months to come to the conclusion that you needed to include others in your decision-making process, developing or creating policy after the fact, after you’ve already engaged in discussions with at least one mining company,” Schreier said.

Holewinski and Almekinder said it was unclear how they should have responded to mining companies.

County to follow ordinance, state statutes on mining inquiries

Oneida County Zoning Director Karl Jennrich clarified the forestry committee oversees any mining activity as the local impact committee under its metallic mining ordinance. In addition, Jill Nemec, the county’s forestry director, said state statutes give the county board the authority to issue decisions about mining inquiries on county forest lands. Any agreements to lease county forest land to mining companies would also require approval from the state Department of Natural Resources.

Almekinder, who chairs Oneida County’s forestry committee, told WPR he’ll be reaching out to mining companies within the next week.

“I will explain to them the current situation with people not wanting mining going on, and let them decide if they want to pursue it,” Almekinder said. “Once I get some information from them, I will bring it back to the committee, and it will get discussed.”

GreenLight Metals, doing business as Green Lights Wisconsin, is already leasing mineral rights at the Bend deposit in Taylor County and Reef deposit in Marathon County. The company has proposed exploratory drilling at both sites, but a DNR spokesperson said there have been no further contacts from the company regarding the two deposits as of Tuesday afternoon.

In a statement, the Natural Resource Development Association said it supports sourcing minerals from Wisconsin amid growing demand for clean energy. That’s increasing the need for minerals like lithium, nickel and copper.

“GreenLight Metals and other entities are likely to continue to explore the feasibility of other potential deposits,” the group said.

The Wisconsin Counties Association, GreenLight Metals and Valhalla Metals didn’t respond to requests for comment about the Lynne deposit Tuesday.