DNR Recommends U.P. Limestone Mine Approval

Department of Natural Resources officials are recommending approval of plans to develop a limestone mine on state land in the eastern Upper Peninsula.

Graymont Incorporated submitted a revised proposal for the mine on more than 10,000 acres in northern Mackinac County, near Rexton. The revisions address the DNR’s previous concerns, so staff there have recommended DNR Director Keith Creagh approve the proposal during a March 19 Natural Resources Commission meeting in Roscommon.

The proposal nearly doubles the amount of royalties the company is willing to pay for the limestone.

Graymont is now offering 30 cents for each ton of extracted limestone, up from the earlier offer of 18.75 cents per ton. The company has proposed a minimum annual royalty to begin in 2020 and has committed to creating a regional economic development fund that will provide $100,000 a year for five years starting this year.

Graymont has now included timber value in the purchase price which will include equal or greater forest values in addition to land value. Non-royalty minerals were valued at $10 an acre.