Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By RICHARD JENKINS
Wakefield — Those interested in seeing mining return to the western Upper Peninsula got good news Friday as Highland Copper released the feasibility study for its Copperwood Project.
Highland president and CEO Denis Miville-Deschenes said the report was “a major step forward” for the company’s efforts to develop a mine in the northern parts of Ironwood and Wakefield townships.
“The feasibility study demonstrates the significant potential of this project located in a great historic mining jurisdiction. Based on the results of the study, we can now focus on putting in place a comprehensive financing package,” Miville-Deschenes said in the study. “The development of a mine at Copperwood represents a tremendous opportunity to create hundreds of jobs in the region.”
According to the document, the project has proven and probable reserves of 25.4 million metric tons, containing 801.8 million pounds of copper and 3.1 million ounces of silver. There is believed to be another 49.9 million metric tons containing 1.3 billion pounds of copper and 5.5 million ounces of silver, categorized as inferred, according to the document.
The document also sheds light on the company’s plans to mine the property, which could happen in 2021. Construction on the mine could begin in January 2019.
The proposed mine would use a drill and blast room-and-pillar method, according to the document, to remove the rock while also leaving pillars in place for structural support.
The mine would consist of an east and west sector, according to the plan, with the richer western part being mined first.
“Mining operations are planned with two 10-hour shifts per day, 360 days per year to achieve a production target of 2.4 million metric tons per year, or 6,600 metric tons per day,” the feasibility study reads.
The plan outlined in the feasibility study also raised the possibility of using the mine’s tailings as back-fill to reduce costs.
The feasibility plan forecasts a 10.7-year lifespan for the mine, over which time it is expected to have a payable copper production of an average of 61.7 million pounds each year.
While the Copperwood Project may have a lifespan of roughly a decade, Highland officials have talked in past of how it would be the first in a development pipeline that also includes the company’s White Pine project and holdings in the central U.P.
The complete feasibility study can be read at highlandcopper.com/news.
