Highland Copper Initiates Copperwood Site Activity and Provides Project Update

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 08, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Highland Copper Company Inc. (TSXV: HI; OTCQB: HDRSF) (“Highland” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has initiated site activity at its Copperwood project in Upper Peninsula, Michigan. Particularly, it has completed wetland impacts and initiated the related environmental mitigation projects as required by its permit obligations and in line with Highland’s goal to operate in an environmentally friendly manner. This represents a key step towards project financing and development. Highland is also pleased to provide a project update on key areas of the project including community relations and technical optimization work.

Key Highlights

• Completed key Copperwood site impacts and initiated related environmental mitigation projects.
• Satisfied initial wetland permit obligations and maintained permits in good standing.
• Site work performed on budget with no lost time or reportable environmental incidents.
• Increased regional and State stakeholder engagement levels; considerable project support demonstrated.
• Focus over the coming months shifting to key technical optimizations to improve economic strength of the Copperwood project.
  

Copperwood Site Update

The Copperwood project is Highland’s 100%-owned, fully-permitted copper project in the Upper Peninsula, Michigan, USA. All permits for site construction and operation are issued by the State of Michigan. The Copperwood Feasibility Study issued in April 2023 demonstrated a robust project producing 64.6 million pounds of copper (approximately 30 thousand tonnes) annually over an initial 11-year mine life. Notably, the project has significant leverage to copper price changes and multiple opportunities to improve project economics.

Table 1 - Metal Price Sensitivities - After-Tax Results¹

^{1 Source: Technical report entitled “Feasibility Study Update Copperwood Project Michigan, USA” with an effective date of March 6, 2023 prepared for Highland by G Mining Services available at www.sedarplus.ca (the “Technical Report”).}

As previously disclosed by Highland, certain early site works needed to be completed during 2023 to meet obligations under the Wetlands and Streams Permit. Highland is pleased to report that all work required to maintain that permit has been completed to the satisfaction of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (“EGLE”). As a result, Highland confirms that all key Michigan State permits remain in good standing. Moreover, it has allowed Highland to initiate pre-construction activities including site clearing and grubbing focused on wetland and stream areas, the development of stream relocation infrastructure, improvements to existing site roads, and the initiation of key environmental mitigation projects. Particularly, compensating wetland has been constructed to offset wetland impacts. The site work was performed safely and in line with the Company’s internal budget. Certain environmental mitigation activities will continue over the next one-to-two-year period. Please see the site photos at the end of the news release demonstrating the scale and scope of work performed.