Published: August 6, 2025 |

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Highland Copper Company has released an update on its 100 percent owned Copperwood Project, which continues to make significant progress toward a near-term construction decision.

“Highland is focused on key work programs that should enable a construction decision for Copperwood in 2026. This includes early site work to prepare for construction, progress on detailed engineering and metallurgical optimization, and continued advancement on state and federal funding opportunities. I am pleased that we are making significant progress in all of these areas, providing increased visibility to a construction decision,” said Barry O’Shea, president and CEO of Highland Copper.

“We are particularly pleased with the support demonstrated by the Wakefield township regarding the state grant, a powerful testament to this project’s transformational potential for the region. At the same time, we are advancing discussions regarding potential financial support at the federal level,” added O’Shea.

MICHIGAN STATE GRANT

The Copperwood project is under consideration for a $50 million grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). The proposed grant is awaiting final approval from the Senate Appropriations Committee. Highland continues to discuss the merits of the regional infrastructure grant with the Committee.

In parallel, Wakefield Township, where the Copperwood project resides, has taken the proactive step of directly requesting a $50 million infrastructure grant from the Michigan legislature. This is a strong demonstration of local support for the Copperwood Project. This request creates a separate path for the potential approval of the regional infrastructure funding. If one path is successful, the other will no longer be required. The total grant request will not exceed $50 million.

“The people of Wakefield Township and the Western Upper Peninsula are squarely behind the Copperwood Project. It will create jobs and opportunities while balancing the environment,” said Wakefield Township Supervisor Mandy Lake.

“This direct appeal from Wakefield township highlights the project’s broad support, which also extends to state and federal leaders. This includes federal Congressman Jack Bergman and all key Upper Peninsula state legislators who emphasize Copperwood’s critical role in domestic copper production, national security, and creating sustainable American jobs while upholding stringent environmental safeguards,” added Lake.

The proposed grant has the potential to unlock important economic development in Gogebic County, aimed at upgrading local roads, power, and telecommunications, infrastructure that will also support the development of the Copperwood project. The grant is in the form of a state budget request for Wakefield township, sponsored by Representative Greg Markkanen, and is viewed by the local community as a generational opportunity to attract much-needed jobs and opportunities in the Western Upper Peninsula.

DETAILED ENGINEERING

Highland awarded the front end engineering and design (FEED) contracts for mine engineering and process plant engineering to DRA Global, the company has now finalized the resourcing for its other engineering workstreams. Specifically, Highland awarded the FEED contract for overall site water management to Foth Infrastructure and Environment and the FEED contract for the tailings disposal facility (TDF) to Tetra Tech.

Each engineering team has completed a comprehensive review of all historical project data and is progressing toward finalizing the engineering design criteria by Q3 2025. Several opportunities to de-risk and optimize the project are being evaluated through trade-off studies.

Highland plans to transition into phase 2 of its engineering program during Q3 2025. The objectives for phase 2 include advancing mine engineering, process plant engineering, and water management engineering to approximately 35 percent completion, while achieving an 85 percent engineering completion level for the TDF.  This critical phase is scheduled for completion by Q1 2026, positioning the Copperwood Project for project financing and a subsequent construction decision.

METALLURGICAL TEST WORK

In May 2025, Highland successfully completed its metallurgical drill program, with 400 kilograms of core samples sent to Base Metallurgical Laboratories Ltd. As the samples were collected from the same locations as the 2018 SGS test work campaign, the initial objective was to produce rougher kinetic results within the same confidence interval as the 2018 results, which has been successfully achieved. This outcome provided confidence to proceed with the metallurgical and reagent optimization phase.

Preliminary optimization results suggest potential for a mill-float-mill-float (MF2) circuit configuration combined with a simplified reagent scheme. The next steps include evaluating ultrafine flotation technology for both rougher and cleaner applications, followed by lock-cycle variability testing on the finalized circuit configuration.

The key purpose of evaluating ultrafine flotation is to determine the potential to enhance the grade-recovery curve, a significant driver of project economics. This technology is also capable of delivering cost savings by reducing the physical footprint of the processing plant and further minimizing the project’s environmental impact. Highland remains on track to finalize the metallurgical test results in Q3 2025.

2025 SITE WORK

The primary objective of Highland’s 2025 construction season is to fulfill its remaining obligations related to mitigation activities under the wetlands and streams permit. The company has completed substantial on-site mitigation construction, marked by the successful planting of nearly 20,000 trees in the newly constructed wetland and streams areas. The work has been subject to numerous visits from Michigan’s environmental authorities. The mitigation project will now transition into the monitoring phase.

Additionally, the off-site stream mitigation project, undertaken in partnership with a local road commission, remains on track to replace several undersized culverts with a 50-foot-span bridge. This initiative is designed to enhance fish habitat across many miles upstream and is progressing within both budget and schedule parameters.

Similar to the wetland project, construction of this bridge meets the company’s mitigation obligations to offset site impacts. These efforts reinforce Highland’s operational presence, demonstrate its commitment to environmental stewardship, and strengthen relationships with local authorities and stakeholders. The 2025 work program represents the final site activities required before a construction decision.

Highland Copper Company is a Canadian company focused on exploring and developing copper projects in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, U.S.A. The company owns the Copperwood deposit through long-term mineral leases and 34 percent of the White Pine North project through a joint venture with Kinterra Copper USA. The company also owns surface rights securing access to the Copperwood deposit and providing space for infrastructure at Copperwood as required.

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