Grant uses unused 2022 SOAR allocation; no legislative vote required
The Michigan Strategic Fund board on Tuesday approved $45 million toward an estimated $129 million in site readiness costs at the Copperwood mine, according to reporting by Paula Gardner of Bridge Michigan. The board also awarded $5 million to the Gogebic County Road Commission for road updates in Wakefield Township, bringing the total state commitment to up to $50 million.
Highland Copper Inc., headquartered in Toronto, first pitched the project in 2023 as a $425 million mine that would create 380 jobs during an 11-year lifecycle. The company said state dollars were needed to make the project viable, and Tuesday’s grant came after several prior unsuccessful attempts by the company to obtain a state subsidy, according to Bridge Michigan.
The mine sits in the far western Upper Peninsula, in a region where the project has been described as polarizing, according to Bridge Michigan.
The grant is funded from the SOAR (Strategic Operating and Attraction Reserve) Fund, which Bridge Michigan described as controversial and which has since been defunded. The $50 million was allocated to the Strategic Fund board in October 2022 and went unused; as a result, lawmakers will not have to approve the grant.