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There's gold in Marathon County, and a Michigan-based company is returning to the woods this winter for more prospecting in the hope of striking it big.

As mining has taken a higher profile in Wisconsin in 2011, mineral exploration company Aquila Resources Inc. has quietly become the most active player in the state.

Make no mistake about it. These are not gold rush days for Wisconsin, and the state is far from a hotbed of metallic mining.

The most visible mining company, Gogebic Taconite of Hurley, has put plans on hold for a $1.5 billion iron ore mine until lawmakers advance more favorable environmental regulations.

But with global demand for minerals rising - and gold's attraction in uncertain times - there has been a revival in interest in Wisconsin.

Aquila Resources, incorporated in Canada and with offices in Menominee, Mich., is evaluating three sites in central and northern Wisconsin.

Also, with a Canadian partner, Aquila is close to making a formal application to mine gold on land next to the Menominee River in the Upper Peninsula, bordering Wisconsin's Marinette County.

Aquila's most significant project in Wisconsin involves the "Reef" deposit in the Town of Easton, east of Wausau in Marathon County - part of a known belt of gold, silver, copper, zinc and other minerals.

The attraction of the Reef deposit: proven gold reserves.

"If you were to go anywhere in the world, this is where you would go," said Thomas O. Quigley, Aquila's president and chief executive officer.

"It's conveniently located. It's not in some remote corner of the world. There is good potential. And there's an infrastructure to get it out."

The Reef deposit was discovered in the 1970s by Noranda Exploration, which estimated the reserve held 119,000 ounces of gold. At today's prices, it would be worth about $200 million.

With the heavy capital costs required to mine the gold, "that's not enough to warrant any great amount of work," said Thomas J. Evans, assistant director of the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey. "But there could be additional resources, and that's what Aquila is" trying to find out.

Expanding the search

In September, publicly traded Aquila reported that the results from 22 holes drilled this summer supported Noranda's findings. Aquila also said the site represented the "potential for new, previously unidentified zones" containing gold.

The promising results and booming gold prices, which have risen about 20% this year, are the impetus for more drilling.

"That's why we are in Reef," Quigley said.

Quigley said it's too early to say whether Aquila will begin the regulatory process to mine gold - a process that could take years.

But the company emphasized in third-quarter financial statements that "Aquila intends to be a mover in the state to acquire mineral properties and work toward permitting and commercial development."

Quigley says Wisconsin's mining companies might be helped if regulations and timetables could be streamlined, though he said Aquila has not participated in the debate. The issue arose after Gogebic stopped plans in June and said mining companies needed more certainty with the regulatory process.

In Madison, the issue has lagged, especially in the Senate, over environmental concerns. There are signs an impatient Assembly may introduce a bill in the next week or so.

Quigley said Aquila favors streamlining regulations and timetables, but not if they weaken environmental safeguards.

Two other Wisconsin sites are drawing interest:

The Bend copper and gold deposit in the Chequamegon Nicolet National Forest about 20 miles northwest of Medford.

Aquila has received an exploration license by a federal agency, the Bureau of Land Management, and will start work this winter.

BLM geologist Jeff Nolder said Aquila had outlined plans to build a mine for about nine years, but only after more exploratory drilling.

But government and mining officials say the Bend project may go nowhere if sufficient minerals aren't found.

"Statistically, one in 1,000 becomes developed," Aquila spokesman Paul Herder said of such exploration projects.

Greg Knight agreed.

"It's like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack," said Knight, mineral and geology program manager for the forest service in Medford.

The Lynne deposit on county-owned land in Oneida County. Aquila and two other companies - Tamerlane Ventures Inc. and Josephine Mining Corp., both publicly traded and based in Washington State - are evaluating the deposit, which includes zinc and other minerals.

Oneida County officials have not decided whether to open land to mining as they weigh environmental and economic issues.

"We really have to understand this before we proceed," said County Board member Dave Hintz. "We're not going to rush this."

Wisconsin environmental groups have taken a wait-and-see attitude on the three possible projects. Instead, they've devoted their time to following legislative developments and Gogebic's proposal for an open-pit iron ore mine on a hilltop along Highway 77 in Iron and Ashland counties.

For the other three possible sites, environmentalists say their biggest concern is the potential damage sulfide rock could cause, said Dave Blouin, mining committee chair of the Sierra Club in Wisconsin.

When exposed to air and water, waste rock from sulfide mineral deposits can potentially release contaminants.

"That has always been the main issue," Blouin said. "They are very small deposits, which also makes them economically risky."

Blouin also questioned whether the three projects could comply with Wisconsin mining moratorium law. Among other requirements, an applicant must show another sulfide mine has been closed for 10 years without producing ground or surface water pollution.

Michigan project

As for the Michigan Back Forty project, environmentalists have raised worries about the threat to the Menominee River on the Wisconsin border.

They are also monitoring developments with Aquila's partner in Michigan, HudBay Minerals Inc., which is embroiled in a controversy involving a mine project in Guatemala.

Quigley says Aquila and HudBay will apply for a permit later next year to construct a 400-feet-deep open-pit mine.

The Back Forty contains an estimated 902,000 ounces of gold, 11.4 million ounces of silver, 961.2 million pounds of zinc and 78.6 million pounds of copper.

Because the Back Forty is on the Michigan-Wisconsin border, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources said it will participate in water discharge and air quality regulations.

Aquila is a 49% partner with HudBay.

The Sierra Club's Blouin questioned HudBay's involvement because of events surrounding the death of a man and alleged sexual assaults of women, all residents living near the Guatemalan mine in 2007.

The case, Blouin said, "reflects a willingness to strong-arm communities that get in its way."

A Toronto law firm has filed lawsuits against HudBay in Canada in the case because of the alleged involvement of security personnel with ties to the mine.

In a statement, HudBay spokesman John Vincic said the company had investigated the incidents and believed the allegations are groundless. He said the company will soon file a motion to dismiss the suits.