密歇根战略基金周二投票决定，向总部位于多伦多的Highland Copper公司提供高达5000万美元的州拨款，用于支持其位于密歇根上半岛的Copperwood铜矿项目 1。其中，4500万美元将拨付给Highland Copper用于场地准备，另外500万美元则拨给戈吉比克县道路委员会用于道路更新 1。这笔资金出自现已停止注资的SOAR（战略运营与吸引储备）基金，该基金于2022年10月分配给战略基金董事会，且此次拨款绕过了立法机构的审批程序 1。
根据2023年的项目推介，Copperwood铜矿预计总投资达4.25亿美元，此次拨款涵盖了最初成本估算的近10% 1。Highland Copper首席执行官Barry O’Shea表示，如果没有州政府的资金支持，为整个项目融资将“极其困难” 1。此外，美国进出口银行去年秋季曾表示有意通过“美国制造更多”倡议向Highland Copper提供2.5亿美元贷款，但相关融资尚未最终敲定 1。Highland Copper计划在发布更新版可行性研究一年后的2028年启动建设 1。作为条件，该公司必须在2028年春季前证明已获得1.5亿美元的额外融资，并在2033年3月31日前证实已创造380个工作岗位 1。
该项目面临着公众的反对，主要争议在于其对苏必利尔湖和豪猪山脉可能造成的生态风险 1。不过，项目支持者辩称，该矿在11年的生命周期内预计将创造380个工作岗位，并有助于振兴该地区 1。
On Tuesday, the Michigan Strategic Fund voted to award up to $50 million in state grants to Toronto-based Highland Copper Inc. for its controversial Copperwood copper mine in the Upper Peninsula 1. The financial package allocates $45 million to Highland Copper for site readiness costs and provides $5 million to the Gogebic County Road Commission for road updates 1. Bypassing the need for legislative approval, the funding originates from the now-defunded Strategic Operating and Attraction Reserve (SOAR) Fund, which was allocated to the Strategic Fund board in October 2022 1. This state contribution covers nearly 10% of the $425 million project cost estimate as originally proposed in 2023 1.
Originally pitched in 2023, the 11-year mining operation is expected to create 380 jobs and revitalize the region, despite facing public opposition over ecological risks to Lake Superior and the Porcupine Mountains 1. Highland Copper CEO Barry O’Shea stated that without state funding, financing the full project would be "incredibly more challenging" 1. The company plans to start construction in 2028, a year after releasing an updated feasibility study 1. The company must show $150 million of additional financing by spring 2028 and prove it created 380 jobs by March 31, 2033 1. Additionally, the Export-Import Bank of the United States indicated interest last fall in loaning Highland $250 million through its Make More in America Initiative, but no financing has been finalized 1.
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