State Rep. Karl Bohnak today celebrated the Michigan Strategic Fund’s approval of $50 million to support the Copperwood Mine project in Gogebic County, calling the decision a major victory for working families and the future of the Upper Peninsula.

The funding includes nearly $45 million in Strategic Site Readiness Program funding for Copperwood Resources Inc. and more than $5 million for the Gogebic County Road Commission. The proposed Copperwood Mine represents an approximately $425 million capital investment in the U.P. and is expected to create roughly 700 jobs, plus another 300 jobs during construction.

Bohnak has joined workers, local leaders, business owners and residents across the U.P. in advocating for the Copperwood project.

“It’s impossible to overstate the positive impact this will have on the Upper Peninsula,” said Bohnak (R-Deerton). “For decades, communities across the U.P. have watched major employers close, good jobs disappear, and young people leave because they couldn’t find the opportunities they needed to build a life here. Copperwood gives us an opportunity to begin reversing that trend.”

The U.P. has endured the loss of major employers and industries over the past several decades, including the closures of the White Pine Mine, the Ontonagon Paper Mill and the Ojibway Correctional Facility. Each closure took good-paying jobs and reliable paychecks out of surrounding communities, leaving local businesses with fewer customers, schools and local governments with a smaller tax base, and families with fewer opportunities to get ahead. As jobs have disappeared, so have many of the young people who once would have built their careers, raised their families and put down roots in the U.P., creating a cycle of population loss and economic decline that has become increasingly difficult for communities to overcome.

Bohnak said Copperwood represents an opportunity to reverse that cycle. The impact of the project will extend far beyond the hundreds of people directly employed by the mine. New economic activity will support local businesses, strengthen the tax base and provide new opportunities for families throughout the U.P.

“When hundreds of people have good-paying jobs, those paychecks don’t stop at the mine entrance,” Bohnak said. “They’re spent at local restaurants, hardware stores and grocery stores. They help families buy homes and put kids through school. They support our communities and give young people a reason to stay in the U.P. instead of moving hundreds of miles away to find a career.

“That’s why my U.P. colleagues and I fought so hard for Copperwood. This isn’t just another economic development project. This is about whether communities across the U.P. are going to grow or continue watching opportunities disappear.”

Bohnak said the Copperwood project demonstrates that Michigan can support job creation while maintaining strong environmental protections. He noted that Michigan’s mining regulations are among the most stringent in the nation and that the project has completed the extensive permitting and review process required to move forward. State regulators will continue working closely with the project throughout its development and operation to ensure all environmental requirements are met.

“No one cares more about protecting the Upper Peninsula than the people who actually live here,” Bohnak said. “We hunt here. We fish here. We raise our families here. Lake Superior and the Porcupine Mountains aren’t vacation destinations to us. They’re home.

“We can protect the incredible natural resources that make the U.P. special while also creating the jobs our communities desperately need. Michigan has a rigorous regulatory system specifically designed to make sure mining is done responsibly. Copperwood has gone through that process and will continue to be held to those standards.”

Bohnak also highlighted the tremendous local support for Copperwood, saying U.P. residents overwhelmingly want to see the project move forward and are excited about the opportunity to revive the region’s proud mining heritage.

“The U.P. was built by people who weren’t afraid to work hard, get their hands dirty and make something,” Bohnak said. “Mining is part of who we are, and Copperwood gives us an opportunity to build on that heritage while bringing good-paying jobs and new life back to our communities. The people who live here want this project, we’re ready for it, and I’m thrilled to see it finally moving forward.”