Upper Peninsula copper mining project gets $50 million grant from Michigan Strategic Fund
Candice WilliamsThe governing body of the Michigan Economic Development Corp. on Tuesday approved a $50 million grant for a copper mining project in the state's Upper Peninsula that could help drive growing electric-vehicle production.
The board unanimously backed a Strategic Site Readiness Program grant of up to $50 million to Copperwood Resources Inc. for its plan to create 380 jobs and invest $425 million in Wakefield and Ironwood Townships in Gogebic County.
The vote comes after dozens of comments from the public made both in favor and against the project. Supporters of the project touted its economic benefits, while those against expressed concerns about health impacts.
Copperwood Resources Inc. is a subsidiary of Highland Copper Co. Inc., a Brossard, Quebec-based copper development company founded in 2006. The company is focused on advancing sediment-hosted copper projects in the Western Upper Peninsula’s Copper Range District, according to a Michigan Economic Development Corporation briefing memo.
The company owns the Copperwood Mine, which sits in Wakefield and Ironwood Townships in Gogebic County. It is a fully permitted greenfield copper mine for construction and operation, according to officials. The mine facilities will sit on 505 acres and include a processing plant, ore stockpile area, tailings disposal facility and support facilities.
“Copperwood Mine has a non-acid generating copper ore body with a predicted life of approximately 11 years,” the briefing memo noted. “Copper was recently added as a critical material by the Department of Energy and is 100% recyclable.”
In a statement following the vote, Highland Copper said the project "strongly aligned with Michigan’s focus on mobility and electrification and has the potential to be a key source of U.S. domestic copper to supply the ongoing clean energy transition." The funds are pending final approval from the Michigan House and Senate appropriations committees.
"This $50 million grant is a wonderful endorsement from the State of Michigan and provides a significant financial boost to the economic strength of the Copperwood Project." Barry O’Shea, Highland Copper’s CEO, said in a statement. "The aligned attention to detail and carefulness from the State of Michigan and its departments will help drive a successful and safe project for Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. "
O'Shea said construction on the mine will begin once financing is in place, likely in the spring or summer of 2025. But residents may see some site work this year that's being done to comply with environmental regulations.
The company took seriously environmental concerns voiced in the public comment period of Tuesday, O'Shea said: "The economic boost that we hope to see in the region should not be at the expense of the environment, and we will certainly work to ensure that’s the case."
Those in favor of the mining project have said the project will have a transformational impact on Gogebic County and the Upper Peninsula. The community lost numerous employers over the years with the closures of the White Pine Mine in 1995, the Ontonagon Paper Mill in 2010 and the the Ojibway Correctional Facility in Marenisco in 2018.
The project would be an incredible boost for the western upper peninsula, said State Rep. Gregory Markkanen for the 110th District: “Having another source of copper in the heartland of the United States is just an incredible opportunity to tap into strategic mineral source. It also would offer an incredible amount of employment opportunities for the Western UP… that would ripple across throughout the UP and throughout the Upper Midwest.”
Copperwood Resources Inc. plans to hire 300 people throughout its construction and create 380 long-term jobs with a range of $80,000 to $120,000. Construction of the mine is set to begin in 2024 and start production in 2026.
Opposing the project, Seth Bernard of Williamsburg said the state using public funds to support projects like the Copperwood Mine is a repellent for fresh young talent and innovative entrepreneurs coming to the state.
“It scars our landscape, threatens our waters, sows disillusionment and distrust and destroys the image and integrity of the Pure Michigan campaign and Michiganders involvement in it,” Bernard said. “It preys on rural economic insecurity, but does not provide reciprocity in a long-term win-win situation. This is a foreign Mining Corporation looking to operate for 10 years leaving behind all of the waste in perpetuity.
"This is not what the Michigan Strategic Fund and its board are tasked to do. It is unwise to use public funds to support companies that extract the resources and labor of Michiganders for a short period of time reaping large profit and then moving on elsewhere, leaving behind a scarred landscape and communities without long-term job security.”
Also Tuesday, the Michigan Strategic Fund board awarded a $8.5 million Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant to Piston Automotive LLC, a subsidiary of Piston Group LLC. The project is expected to create up to 900 new jobs and bring an investment of up to $85.1 million in Auburn Hills.
The board also approved a 15-year, 100% state essential services assessment exemption with a value of up to $1.78 million. Piston Automotive has been awarded a contract with General Motors Co. to assemble and supply component modules for the new Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra EV, Jerry Ruskowski with Piston Group said during the meeting.
The company is considering leasing a newly constructed building at the former site of the Palace of Auburn Hills. It plans to occupy 713,000-square-feet of the facility.
“The new facility will be part of the Company’s long-term strategy to secure future business in the electric vehicle segment as the automotive industry shifts to electric,” according to the briefing memo. In addition to the $85 million investment, the project is expected to create up to 900 new jobs paying an average wage of $845.60 per week plus benefits.
Staff Writer Beth LeBlanc contributed.