Name of the Project
Copperwood project.

Location
Western Upper Peninsula of Michigan, in the US.

Project Owner/s
Vancouver-based 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 detailed its 2026 work programme to advance the project towards a construction decision. The company is also searching for a new project director, as Dr Wynand van Dyk will leave at the end of February to take up an academic role in South Africa; he will continue in a consulting capacity to finish the integrated mine plan review. 

The 2026 programme prioritises completion of front-end engineering design (FEED), progression of project financing, and the continuation of key technical and commercial activities to support near-term construction readiness.

Progress in 2025 included awarding FEED contracts to DRA Americas, boosting copper recoveries to about 87.6% using ultrafine flotation, and securing a US EXIM $250-million financing letter of intent. Highland also divested its White Pine asset, positioning it as debt-free, with more than $20-million in cash. 

For 2026, the company plans a detailed integrated mine plan review, evaluation of the drift-and-fill mining methods, advancement of Phase 2 FEED (engineering to about 40% and tailings work to about 80%), and updates to capital and operating costs. Site activities will include environmental monitoring and construction-readiness preparations. 
Highland aims to appoint technical, offtake and debt-finance advisers and start a formal debt finance process with federal and private sources. 

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); Foth Infrastructure & Environment (environmental, permitting and social aspects); and DRA Americas (FEED)..

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