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State, mining company settle on Porcupine erosion damage

SILVER CITY, Mich. (AP) — Michigan officials have reached a settlement with a mining company involving erosion caused by exploration of an underground copper deposit near Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park.

The state Department of Environmental Quality said it recently signed a consent order with Copperwood Resources. The company will pay a $25,000 fine, stabilize the site and restore affected wetlands.

The company damaged property owned by Gogebic County when it conducted test drilling last spring, as snow was melting in the western Upper Peninsula, DEQ officials said. The company did not obtain several required permits.

A company official said a feasibility assessment of the mining project is expected this summer.

Permits to allow development of the mineral deposit were granted in 2012 but will have to be amended if the company decides to proceed.

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