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Initial Discovery
A well driller brings geologist Richard Lassin rock samples from a water well along the Menominee River in Lake Township, Menominee County, Michigan. Lassin recognizes that the samples indicate a valuable mineral deposit on the site. Lassin and the well driller, Harry Kleiman, begin acquiring private and state mineral interests in the surrounding area. In the fall of 2001, Lassin, Kleiman and others form a joint venture called the Menominee River Exploration Company (MREC).