Managed Forest Law (MFL) land that was previously temporarily closed to public access is now reopened to the public for hunting, fishing, hiking, sight-seeing and cross-country skiing.

-->

The Gogebic Iron Range is an 80-mile long belt of distinctive Precambrian bedrock in northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It stretches east to west, roughly from Lake Gogebic in Michigan to Lake Namekagon in Wisconsin.

The Penokee/Gogebic Deposit generally refers to a 21-mile-long segment of the Gogebic Iron Range between the community of Upson and Mineral Lake in Wisconsin. The deposit contains 20-30% iron in the form of magnetite. Because the iron ore is of lower grade than the natural hematitic ores mined previously in northern Wisconsin, the ore must be concentrated and processed into taconite pellets prior to shipping to a steel mill.

Gogebic Taconite, LLC, withdrawal

Most of the surface and mineral rights for the land containing the deposit are currently owned by the LaPointe Iron Company and RGGS Land & Minerals, Ltd., which have optioned potential development of the deposit to Gogebic Taconite, LLC.

Gogebic Taconite, LLC, was considering development along a four-mile stretch east of the community of Mellen. However, the DNR received a preapplication withdrawal letter from Gogebic Taconite, LLC, on March 24, 2015 for the ferrous mining project located in Iron and Ashland County. The letter follows the February 2015 closing of the company's Hurley office.

As of March 24, 2015, all Managed Forest Law (MFL) land that was previously temporarily closed to public access is now reopened to the public for hunting, fishing, hiking, sight-seeing and cross-country skiing.

Department officials continue to work with the company to complete necessary work on the site to ensure the site is properly maintained and environmentally stable. The DNR issued a certificate of completion for exploration license #41001 on June 27, 2017.