Mining company moves ahead with plans to drill in northern Wisconsin

A Canadian mining company is moving ahead with plans to drill for copper and gold in northern Wisconsin and may soon submit plans to drill for gold near Wausau. The development comes as some Wisconsin tribes and residents work to prevent mining and strengthen environmental protections.

GreenLight Metals, doing business as GreenLight Wisconsin, wants to conduct exploratory drilling of the Bend deposit at a 40-acre site owned by the U.S. Forest Service in Taylor County. The deposit is believed to contain 4 million tons of mostly copper and gold.

GreenLight submitted a notice of intent to drill detailing its plans and a wetland report to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in late September...