Copperwood mine critics raise pollution, tourism concerns as board approves $50M in funding

The Michigan Strategic Fund Board voted 7-2 to approve $44.9 million for Copperwood Resources and 9-0 for $5 million to the Gogebic County Road Commission, funding infrastructure for the Copperwood Mine in the Western Upper Peninsula. The money was appropriated back in 2022, so despite the board's earlier failed 2024 attempt to secure legislative funding, officials say no further approval was needed to release it now.

Public comment ran heavily against the project, with residents citing mining pollution history, proximity to Lake Superior and the Porcupine Mountains, and skepticism toward Highland Copper's job projections. The project memo estimates 380 jobs over roughly 11 years, though the company's CEO told the board operations would run 'well in excess' of that timeline — a claim not reflected in the memo's own numbers.

Critics noted the irony of the same state economic agency funding both the Pure Michigan tourism campaign and a foreign-owned mine near the wilderness that campaign sells. The company also disclosed a $250 million letter of interest from the U.S. Export-Import Bank, suggesting the state grant is less a finish line than a down payment toward much larger financing.

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