Company changing name; new access road planned

By SAM EGGLESTON

Journal Ishpeming Bureau

ISHPEMING - Plans for roadways and the future of the Kennecott Minerals name were discussed when a citizens advisory council met Monday.

The 15-member advisory panel met in Ishpeming to hear about progress on the Kennecott Eagle Project, a nickel and copper mine planned for the Yellow Dog Plains. That progress is good, said project manager Jon Cherry.

"We're expecting to move forward by the end of the year," Cherry said, discussing litigation against permits the mine received from the state. "Hopefully, we'll have everything up and running by mid- to late-2010."

Outside of litigation concerns, the council heard a report from Adam Tanner, the head of the Eagle Project's human resources department, who discussed a move away from the Kennecott name toward Rio Tinto, Kennecott's parent company and the world's 30th-largest corporation.

"It's all about brand recognition," said Tanner, who spoke first before the group. "The Kennecott name will still be there, but it will be seen more often with the Rio Tinto name as well."

Tanner said Kennecott's offices in Ishpeming already have the Rio Tinto name on the door. Business cards, hard hats and company vehicles will soon follow.

The advisory group also listened while Cherry updated them on the progress of making a road due south from the Eagle Project to U.S. 41 - an alternative to taking the ore via truck to County Road 510 to County Road 550, and then down to U.S. 41 as originally planned.

"We have enough land through purchases and easements to make it possible," Cherry said. "Right now we're exploring the idea and the permitting process."

The road could even potentially have an overpass on U.S. 41 to allow the trucks to avoid interrupting traffic on the often-busy highway, Cherry said.

"That is a maybe," he said. "It's something we're definitely considering."

Cherry said that local contractor A. Lindberg and Sons has been hired to do the design work for the road, which would be a "multi-use, multi-commercial" route.