Days after the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality announced approval of a permit for the Kennecott Eagle Minerals Co. to mine nickel and copper in the Upper Peninsula, the company's parent corporation, Rio Tinto, announced that it was exploring six additional mine sites northwest of Marquette.

Rio Tinto, based in the UK and Australia, is the second largest mining company in the world and owns mineral rights to more than 450,000 acres of land in the Upper Peninsula. The company said it plans to invest $300 million in the development of the newly approved mine "Eagle," which it said will be the only primary nickel mine in the U.S., with production expected to begin in late 2009.

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