GTAC To Hire Private Guards During Exploration Phase

After an alleged property theft, Gogebic Taconite says it will hire private security while doing exploratory drilling in the Penokee Range.

Iron County Sheriff Tony Furyk says a protester stole a camera and a personal cell phone of a GTAC employee on the drill site Tuesday. GTAC spokesman Bob Seitz says the incident caught them off-guard.

“The fact that there was a physical confrontation really goes beyond what most people want to see, particularly when it happens to try to stop the gathering of facts. That’s disturbing.”

Because of that, Seitz says they’re going to hire private security guards.

“We’re going to make sure that the rig and our people are protected. We didn’t anticipate that a woman wouldn’t be safe out in the forest. That’s not what we’ve been used to with the protesters out there.”

No one was injured in the confrontation. A spokesman for the protesters says they stress peaceful means and regret the incident.

Ashland and Iron County Sheriff deputies were on the scene yesterday, but Ashland County Sheriff Mick Brennan says they can’t afford to staff the drill site 24/7, so that kind of security will be up to GTAC.