Name of the Project
Copperwood project.

Location
Western Upper Peninsula of Michigan, in the US.

Project Owner/s
Highland Copper’s US subsidiary Copperwood Resources.

Project Description
The project comprises the Copperwood and Satellite deposits.

The project envisages an estimated 11-year operation averaging payable copper production of 64.6-million pounds a year and payable silver production of 106 966 oz/y. 

Life-of-mine production is estimated at 300 000 t of copper and 1.1-million ounces of silver.

Room-and-pillar mining methods will be used given the relatively subhorizontal orebody that varies in thickness from 1.6 m to 3.7 m.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has an after-tax internal rate of return of 17.6% with a net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of $222-million before taxes and $168-million after taxes. Payback is estimated at 3.5 years.

Capital Expenditure
Initial capital is estimated at $391-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Commissioning and plant ramp-up will take place during the first quarter of 2026.

Latest Developments
Highland Copper has received a nonbinding letter of interest (LoI) from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Exim) for up to $250-million in potential debt financing to advance its fully permitted Copperwood project.

The LoI, issued under Exim’s Make More in America Initiative and potentially also eligible under its China and Transformational Exports Programme, could support a significant portion of Copperwood’s estimated $400-million initial capital requirement.

Copperwood is among the few copper projects in the US with all major permits secured and a completed feasibility study. Highland is advancing detailed engineering to prepare the project for a construction decision.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
GMS (overall report and feasibility study coordination, property description and location, accessibility, history, geological setting and mineralisation, deposit types, exploration, drilling, sample preparation and security, data verification, mineral resource estimates, mineral reserves, mining methods, economic analysis, operating costs, infrastructure, power supply, capital cost estimate and project execution plan); SGS Canada Inc. (Lakefield) (mineral test work; Lycopodium (sheet, mass balance, recovery methods, mineral process plant design and input operating and capital cost estimates for the process plant); Golder Associates (rock mechanics and underground geotechnical assessment, water balance, water treatment design and tailings disposal facility design); and Foth Infrastructure & Environment (environmental, permitting and social aspects).

Contact Details for Project Information
Highland Copper, tel +1 450 677 2455 or email info@highlandcopper.com.