We’ve done an awful lot of reporting on the proposed iron ore mine in Ashland and Iron Counties, but this morning, the Milwaukee paper has an interesting article on other proposed mines in Wisconsin searching for things like gold, zinc and copper.

Aquila Resources Inc. is looking at locations in Marathon County and near Marinette County for their drilling.

As the paper reports, there’s a good financial reason for the company deciding to file applications with the Department of Natural Resources:

“Aquila’s most significant project in Wisconsin involves the “Reef” deposit in the Town of Easton, east of Wausau in Marathon County - part of a known belt of gold, silver, copper, zinc and other minerals.

The attraction of the Reef deposit: proven gold reserves.

“If you were to go anywhere in the world, this is where you would go,” said Thomas O. Quigley, Aquila’s president and chief executive officer.

“It’s conveniently located. It’s not in some remote corner of the world. There is good potential. And there’s an infrastructure to get it out.”

The Reef deposit was discovered in the 1970s by Noranda Exploration, which estimated the reserve held 119,000 ounces of gold. At today’s prices, it would be worth about $200 million.”

The company is also looking at possible mining sites in the Chequamegon Nicolet National Forest about 20 miles northwest of Medford and in Oneida County.

SCHOOL TAX LEVIES

The Oshkosh newspaper is out this morning with an interesting piece regarding the amount of money taxpayers there and statewide are paying toward schools and for the first time since 2005, the figures cited from the Department of Public Instruction show that amount dropping throughout much of the state.

The last time it happened was because the state infused local school districts with more state funding. This time, the state cut education funding by roughly $800 million, froze local property tax mill rates and gave school districts the right to open up bargaining agreements with its teachers to gain increased contributions to pension and health care costs to make up the difference.

No surprise the story elicited comments from Republican lawmakers who say their reforms are working and from teachers who say they’re not.

“Nobody likes to cut money to schools, but, unfortunately, because of the way our economy is right now, that’s what is happening,” said State Sen. Luther Olsen, R-Ripon, who is chairman of the Senate’s education committee. “There was no more money to spend, so we had to make some tough decisions.”

Aid cuts to school districts were largely offset by new collective bargaining rules that required employees pay more for their benefits and allowed districts to shop for less expensive health insurance without bargaining a change.

Still, tighter budgets led to thousands of teacher layoffs across the state.

Educators say the spending restrictions, along with cuts in state aid to schools, will harm districts and diminish the quality of instruction.

“Already there are 4,000 fewer teaching positions out there (statewide) as a result of what has gone on and we anticipate thousands more teachings positions being cut,” said Oshkosh Education Association president Mark Boushele. “That results in fewer classes for students, fewer opportunities for learning and crowded conditions for students to learn in.”

The DPI figures show when all 424 Wisconsin school districts are accounted for, the total property tax revenue collected declined one percent or $47 million.