Highland Copper is advancing plans to open the Copperwood mine, and the regional workforce agency that places Upper Peninsula residents into jobs says the project can't come soon enough.

Upper Peninsula Michigan Works, which serves all 15 UP counties from offices in Escanaba, Marquette, Hancock and Sault Ste. Marie, is one of nearly ten local institutions that have formally backed the project, according to the Copperwood project's support page.

CEO Deb Brunel made the case to the Michigan Strategic Fund board on March 26, 2024: "We are in desperate need of good paying jobs with reliable companies. The Copperwood Project ensures security and reliability for the people in the Western UP."

The numbers explain the urgency. A September 2025 Upjohn Institute report found the UP has lost more than 9,000 residents aged 25 to 54 since 2015. An April 2026 follow-up confirmed the region's total labor force holds at roughly 135,000 only because workers over 65 are filling the gap. Gogebic County, where the mine would be built, had a 6.8% unemployment rate as of mid-2025, well above Michigan's 5.3% statewide rate, according to MLive.

The Copperwood project in Gogebic County is projected to create 300 construction jobs during a three-year build and employ 380 workers once operational, with positions paying $80,000 to $120,000 per year, according to an economic analysis by Public Sector Consultants. Including indirect employment, the total reaches roughly 693 jobs statewide. The State is still considering funding mechanisms.

Not all institutions remain on board. Northern Michigan University withdrew its support in January 2025. But 22 units of local government have passed resolutions backing the project, and UP Michigan Works, Gogebic Community College, Michigan Technological University and Aspirus Hospital in Ironwood still stand behind it.

If built, Copperwood would be the first copper-focused mine in the Upper Peninsula since the White Pine Mine closed in 1997. Highland Copper expects to complete detailed engineering in the first half of 2027, with construction beginning no earlier than 2028.