Barry O'Shea

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation has announced the Michigan Strategic Fund Board’s approval of a $50 million Strategic Site Readiness Program performance-based grant for Copperwood Resources Inc., a subsidiary of Highland Copper, for the construction of the Copperwood Mine in Wakefield and Ironwood townships in Gogebic County.

The MSF Board held a meeting Tuesday to discuss the Copperwood Mine Project in Gogebic County, saying it’s projected to create 380 long-term, good-paying jobs and generate a capital investment of $425 million.

According to an economic impact study by Public Sector Consultants, the operation is projected to provide more than $15 million per year in local, county, state and federal revenue and increase business spending across the state by more than $130 million annually.

To date, some 19 local units of government, ranging from townships to county boards, have issued resolutions of support, and nearly 10 local institutions, including Northern Michigan University, have submitted letters of support, an MEDC news release stated.

The project also has its opponents.

On Feb. 27, more than 30 people delivered spoken comments to the Michigan Strategic Fund opposing the proposed grant.

In a March 5 letter to the editor of the Daily Mining Gazette, Tom Grotewohl, with the group Protect the Porkies, wrote:

“The main thing our tax dollars would be paying for is not copper, but waste. With an ore grade of just 1.45%, for every ton of extracted material, 29 pounds would be copper, and 1,971 pounds would be waste, requiring on-site storage, forever, in a 323-acre tailings disposal facility.”

According to the Highland Copper Company’s website, the mine, if developed, will have a projected life of 10.7 years. The underground mine will be developed using the room-and-pillar mining method with an estimated average processing rate of 6,800 metric tonnes per day. Facilities on-site will include grinding, flotation, concentrate thickening, concentrate filtration, storage and loadout.

Barry O’Shea, CEO of Highland Copper, said during a Tuesday press conference that, first and foremost, he wants to acknowledge that he listened respectfully to the comments of those who spoke during Tuesday’s meeting with concerns regarding the environmental risks of such a venture.

“I — we — understand, that with this grant comes significant responsibility to local environments and to the local community,” O’Shea said, “and we take that very seriously.”

O’Shea, along with other officials who spoke during the press conference, acknowledged the increasing demand for copper, particularly in the domestic market.

A Jan. 23 report published by Forbes reported that the U.S. finds itself in an increasingly high-stakes scramble for global copper supplies against China. If this competition isn’t managed the same way the competition for crude oil is, competition for copper could further destabilize the already rocky international system.

O’Shea commented that the unanimous vote Highland Copper received would not have happened without considerable local support.

“We received 22 formal resolutions of support from local municipalities, townships and counties,” O’Shea said, adding to the list 10 additional letters of support and more than 20 public comments of support from people living in the region.

O’Shea went on to say that mining has co-existed with tourism for decades in the U.P., which, he said, is anticipated to continue.

“I think you’ll see that in the environmental responsible design in the project,” he said.

Copperwood is an underground mine, which minimizes surface impact, he said.

O’Shea said that he wants to be clear in stating that Copperwood is not an acid-generating mine, as Highland’s testing has shown, agreed to by the state permitting authority, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE).

“We listened very specifically to local concerns and re-engineered our water solution in 2023,” he said, “so, to be clear, we will not be drawing water from Lake Superior.”

Highland has been very respectful when operating, he continued, saying that any work performed has been without environmental incident or accident from a wetland perspective.

We know the sensitivity there, and we’re establishing a wetland preservation 10 times in excess of what we intend to impact,” said O’Shea. “So, we trust and hope that this will be a reflection of how we intend to operate (with environmental responsibility) and with the benefit of the local community in mind.”