GOGEBIC COUNTY, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – A proposed $425 million copper mine in the Upper Peninsula is tapping into a rich vein of state funding.

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 is expected to support about 300 jobs during construction and create at least 700 long-term jobs, according to a release from Michigan House Republicans.

State Rep. Karl Bohnak (R-Deerton) called the decision a major victory for working families and the future of the Upper Peninsula.

“It’s impossible to overstate the positive impact this will have on the Upper Peninsula,” Bohnak said. “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.”

Bohnak pointed out that Michigan’s U.P. has seen major employers pull up stakes over the past several decades, including the closures of the White Pine Mine, the Ontonagon Paper Mill and the Ojibway Correctional Facility. Bohnak said Copperwood represents an opportunity to reverse that cycle.

Rep. Greg Markkanen (R-Hancock) agreed with that assessment and credited local support for the milestone.

“Our greatest export in these counties is our youth. Our youth are graduating from high school and having to leave the area because there’s no jobs, no employment. This investment means renewed hope for Gogebic County and the western U.P.,” he said.

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The funding did obtain approval without controversy. Opponents to the project have pointed out environmental and tourism concerns because of the mine’s proximity to Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park.