“The White Pine North Project offers great potential and will be a valuable asset to the company for many years,” Highland Copper CEO Denis Miville-Deschênes said. “In parallel, we are continuing our discussions with various parties to conclude transactions with the objective of eliminating the company’s debt and raising funds to resume activities and advance the development of both the Copperwood and White Pine North projects.”

The White Pine North Project is located in the copper range district of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and is an extension of the historic White Pine mine, which operated from 1953 to 1995. By the time it closed, more than 4.5 billion lb of copper had been produced from the former White Pine mine.

On September 23, 2019, Highland announced the results of a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) and a mineral resource estimate on the White Pine North Project. The PEA provided a base case assessment of the White Pine North Project using a copper price of $3/lb and a silver price of $16 per ounce (oz). The mine life was estimated to be 25 years, including one year of ramp-up, with average annual life-of-mine payable copper production of 89 million lb and 1.3 million oz of silver.

As part of the transaction with CRC, White Pine Copper LLC (WPC), a subsidiary of Highland, has agreed to assume all benefits, duties, and obligations of CRC under a judicial Consent Decree entered in 1997 and subsequently amended, concerning the White Pine mining facility formerly operated by CRC. WPC, CRC and the Department of Attorney General for the state of Michigan have executed a stipulated order for assignment and assumption of consent decree that has been approved by the Ingham County Circuit Court. In addition, WPC has provided a certificate of deposit in the amount of $1.68 million for the benefit of the Michigan Department of Environment, Energy and Great Lakes as financial assurance for the performance of environmental obligations associated with the remediation and closure plan of the historical White Pine mine site. 2022.