Creation of a Wetland Preservation Area (WPA) and endowment fund for the environmental stewardship and monitoring of approximately 717 acres of high-quality wetland habitat in perpetuity.
Responsible Mining
The right way to mine.
ESG with purpose.
As a development-stage copper company, Highland Copper views Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) as an important component of its long-term success. The Company recognizes the importance of establishing a strong ESG approach to support sustainable outcomes for its investors, workforce, and the communities in which it operates.
Transparency and accountability are central to this approach. The Company will continue to assess and refine its ESG practices at each stage of the mining lifecycle as the Copperwood Project advances through development.
Real stewardship.
At Highland Copper, we are committed to environmental stewardship across all stages of the mining lifecycle, from design and development through to closure. Through the Copperwood Project in Michigan, the Company aims to support a domestic source of responsibly produced copper, a material identified by the U.S. Department of Energy as critical to the transition to a lower carbon economy and strengthening supply chain resilience.
As stewards of the Lake Superior watershed, Highland Copper is focused on proactive water management, strong environmental monitoring, and compliance with all applicable environmental requirements. While mining activities have inherent environmental impacts, the Company’s approach is to minimize these impacts through established mitigation practices and, where appropriate, the development of conservation measures.
Building community.
Highland Copper is positioned to support employment and local economic activity in Michigan’s Western Upper Peninsula as the Copperwood Project advances. The Company prioritizes the well-being of its workforce and ongoing engagement with local stakeholders through transparent and regular communication.
The Company is committed to continual engagement with local communities through regular meetings and ongoing dialogue. Highland Copper has received formal resolutions of support from townships in Gogebic County and other regional stakeholders. The Company’s objective is to maintain these relationships while advancing the project in a responsible manner.
Initiatives to date.
Highland Copper is committed to protecting the natural beauty and ecological integrity of Michigan’s Western Upper Peninsula. As part of our commitment to the region, we undertook early site work to meet the obligations of our Wetlands and Stream Permit. This included site clearing, road upgrades, and the construction of stream diversion structures, as well as extensive sustainable development actions such as tree planting and the creation of new wetlands. To date, we have planted over 20,000 trees and 14,000 live stakes across the wetland and stream mitigation areas. These plantings include a variety of species native to the Western Upper Peninsula, selected to maximize biodiversity and support habitat restoration.
This early site work is now complete, fully compliant with our permit requirements, and reflects our dedication to advancing the project responsibly and leaving a positive legacy that extends well beyond the life of our mining operations.
The video below compares footage of the stream diversion and wetland mitigation taken during construction in October 2024 (before) with footage from October 2025 (after), following our sustainable development efforts and re-vegetation, showing the natural growth now filling in.
The video below compares footage of the Choate Road bridge over Bluff Creek before reconstruction in October 2024 and after it was rebuilt in October 2025.
Copperwood Project
For more information on environmental protections, please see the page Stringent Environmental Protections on our dedicated Copperwood Project website.
Made in Michigan.
Highland Copper engaged Public Sector Consultants, a respected firm based in Lansing, to perform an Economic Contribution Analysis, based on expenditure projections from the Copperwood Project Feasibility Study Update issued in 2023. The model estimates direct, indirect and induced economic contributions of the Copperwood Project to the economies of the Upper Peninsula and of the State of Michigan during construction, as well as the annual economic contribution of the operating mine if Highland proceeds with the development. The results are impressive.
