A Potential Benefit of the Yellow Dog Mine Project

approximate route of the NCT near the Yellow Dog Mine site (base map from the Marquette Mining Journal)

received from the North Country Trail Hikers Chapter

Designs and permit applications are being prepared by the Kennecott Eagle Minerals Company to construct a road from the company's proposed Eagle mine, sometimes called the Yellow Dog Mine, to U.S. 41 in Humboldt Township. This 23-mile road would be used to move nickel and copper ore to a proposed processing facility at the former Humboldt Mill. This road would benefit trail building efforts for the North Country Trail.

Kennecutt spokeswoman, Deb Muchmore said, "The road would largely utilize an existing two-track that comes through that area." The public requested that such a road be built to keep the heavy traffic off local county roads. At this point the road plan is still being called "tentative."


While it is difficult to feel positive about the environmental impacts of the mine, it is somewhat cheering to think that there might be some positive aspects for the trail. "This may help us access the area of our trail that is currently difficult to access - up the west side of the Silver Lake Basin," said Lorana Jinkerson of the North Country Trail Hikers.

See a more detailed map of the area with proposed NCT routes prepared by the North Country Trail Hikers Chapter (a pdf)
See The Mining Journal, "Mine road moves ahead," by John Pepin, Mar 8, 2009
See Yellow Dog Mine Receives Favorable Ruling