Wakefield Township, one of two Gogebic County townships where Highland Copper's proposed $425 million Copperwood Mine would be built, has spent more than a year making the case for the project to state lawmakers.

The project won state support Aug. 25, 2026, when the Michigan Strategic Fund Board voted 7-2 to approve a $44.97 million Strategic Site Readiness Program grant for Copperwood Resources Inc. and unanimously approved a $5.03 million grant to the Gogebic County Road Commission, as The Detroit News reported.

In February 2025, the Wakefield Township board unanimously approved a resolution of support for the mine, according to a Highland Copper news release. Resolutions of support have come from nearly 20 units of government, including five counties and several townships, according to the Copperwood Project website. Supervisor Mandy Lake, who also serves as Bessemer's city manager, said in the release that the project "will bring good-paying jobs, strengthen our economy and create new opportunities for families in the Western UP."

Five months later, Lake testified before the Michigan House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor and Economic Opportunity on July 31, 2025. She asked lawmakers to approve a $50 million infrastructure grant for the township.

"Mining is a part of our history, and it should be a part of our future," Lake told the subcommittee. "It's a vital piece of the U.P.'s economy and enjoys broad local support."

The House included the $50 million in its budget proposal. In September 2025, Lake organized a community session at VFW Post 9084 in Wakefield in support of the grant that drew roughly 60 people. But lawmakers left the money out of the final 2026 state budget on Oct. 3, 2025. Lake kept pushing.

Lake is a member of the "Our U.P., Our Future" coalition, which launched Aug. 24, 2026, with more than 130 local leaders, labor unions, business owners and residents, according to Upper Michigan's Source. Other Wakefield members include Mayor Dale White, George Dellich of Club 28 Restaurant and John C. Siira, president of Forward Wakefield Economic Development Corp. The coalition includes all six state legislators representing the U.P., according to InvestUP's coalition page.

"A community that can't keep its families can't keep its businesses," Dellich said in InvestUP's coalition release.

Supporters point to a string of losses: the White Pine Mine in 1997, the Ontonagon Paper Mill in 2010 and the Ojibway Correctional Facility in Marenisco in 2018. Gogebic Community College Interim President Richard Shrubb said enrollment has dropped with each of the region's mine closings. "These are jobs that start at 80K. They are enough money that people can have a house, have a baby, buy a car and get married," Shrubb said at a Sept. 15 community celebration, according to Upper Peninsula News.

Gogebic County Board Chairman Dan Siirila said in the coalition release that he has watched "jobs disappear and young people follow."

Mike Yon, a Wakefield resident and county commissioner, said on the Copperwood Project website that mines and recreation can coexist.

A wetland pond with a wooden dock, surrounded by tall grasses and a fall-colored forest, with low hills visible in the distance at the Highland Copper site.

The Road Commission's $5.03 million share, paired with a $7.54 million Michigan Department of Transportation award, would put roughly $12.57 million into reconstructing the 12.8-mile County Road 519, which rates 2 out of 10 on the PASER condition scale. The road serves forestry and lumber operations and connects to the Wakefield Industrial Park, meaning improvements would benefit the region whether or not the mine opens, according to Upper Peninsula News. Lake told the Michigan Advance in August 2025 that the infrastructure would "also support our logging industry, and better our position to attract more business opportunities as well."

The project would create an estimated 380 direct jobs paying $80,000 to $120,000, about twice the median regional wage of $41,000, according to MLive. Highland Copper cites roughly 700 direct and indirect jobs. Over an 11-year lifespan, the mine is expected to generate $121 million in state and local tax revenue, MLive reported.

A statewide EPIC-MRA poll released in August 2026 found 71% of Michigan voters support the project and 58% support state funding, according to InvestUP's coalition release.

The award faces a legal challenge. Protect the Porkies filed a Claim of Appeal with the Ingham County Circuit Court on Sept. 14, 2026, challenging the board's vote, according to Upper Michigan's Source.

The state award is conditional on Highland Copper demonstrating by March 31, 2028, that it has secured $150 million in additional financing. Highland Copper CEO Barry O'Shea told the Michigan Strategic Fund Board the company is preparing for construction in 2028, with commercial production anticipated in 2030.