RE: reply to browndog.... sit boy ,,, smack,,,Thanks, this e-mail sparked a round of research on my part. I share your concern for the price of the shares of AQA. More on that in the next post.
I note that nowhere in your e-mail do you say that Aquila's property is actually at risk. You note that Shakey Lake and Savannah is right next door. I'm not certain why this is a threat - Aquila's property has to be next door to something. Do you have any knowledge whatsoever of a direct threat to Aquila's claim?
The approved mineral lease for Kennecott is in Marquette County, which is immediately to the North of Menominee County. I have read the Surface Use Lease. Nowhere is there any mention of parks and Native burial grounds. There is a prohibition against damaging archeological sites. There is also an obligation to develop recreational facilities, and to restore snowmobile trails to their original condition. Of course, the lease requires that the area be restored following use - completely normal.
It seems to me that any major environmental and other related Native issues that may have arisen with regards to the Kennecott mine would have been addressed in their lease. None of the types of issues that you have raised are apparent. Can it be that the only impediments to mining in this part of Michigan are located where AQA has its find, and that Menominee County is entirely different from the county immediately to its North? Here is the Kennecott Surface Use Lease for your review.
https://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/SurfaceUseLease_186443_7.pdf
I've taken a look for "Crandon". The only one I can locate is in Wisconsin, not Michigan, and it is clear that this is where the issue with Native Americans actually arose. Aquila does refer to Crandon in their press releases, as part of their explanation of the Penokean Volcanic Belt that extends West to East from Wisconsin to Michigan, with Aquila's property on the easten portion.
Here is what Wiki says about the Crandon Mine Dispute...
"From the 1980s to 2003, Crandon was the center of an environmental debate to construct a mining operation in a metallic minerals deposit discovered by the Exxon Coal and Minerals Company. The heated discussion led to a Wisconsin Legislature mining moratorium act in 1998. Eventually, the proposed company and mine site lands were purchased by the opposed Mole Lake Sakaogon Chippewa and Forest County Potawatomi tribes, whose reservations sat near the site. The project was withdrawn in October 2003."
You have noted in your post that there are "many tribes represented by a cohesive group." As well, you have noted that, "This WILL BE AN ISSUE!" Maybe in Wisconsin, but I remain to be convinced that this is an issue in Michigan. Of note, Crandon is about 7% Native American. The town noted in your post - Stephenson, Michigan - is about 0.11% Native American, which, with a total population of 875 equates to one Native person. If there is a specific Native group that aims at interfering with Aquila's find, please tell us specifically who these people are. Do these councils have names?
You ask why "Sixty Island" wasn't allowed to be explored. I invite you to look at the "Mineral Lease Information and DNR Ownership" map for Menominee County attached here...
https://www.dnr.state.mi.us/spatialdatalibrary/pdf_maps/mineral_lease_information/menominee_lease_information.pdf
What you will see is that Michigan rates land according to whether it may be developed/leased or not - this is completely normal. There are many areas that are off-limits in Menominee County. I have no idea why, but the obvious reasons would be the location of towns and urban areas, and wildlife/nature preserves. I should add that if Sixty Island was never slated for exploration then Aquila could not possible have a claim over that area anyway - the state will not interfere with a claim it would never have allowed in the first place. Again, how this constitutes a threat to Aquila is not clear.
Thanks,
Issimo2