Moving ahead

White Pine applies for mining and wetlands permits

WHITE PINE - White Pine Copper LLC has applied for a mining permit to develop an underground copper and silver mine located at and adjacent to the historic White Pine Mine site in Ontonagon County’s Carp Lake Township, according to a statement from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE). The White Pine North Mining Permit Application was received by EGLE on September 15. A separate water discharge permit application was filed at the same time, along with a 103-page wetlands permit application.

EGLE states the mining permit application was submitted under Part 632, which governs nonferrous metallic mineral mining. Submitted by White Pine Copper LLC, a subsidiary of Kinterra Capital, the comprehensive filing also covers dam safety and air quality permits alongside the wetlands and water discharge requests. The application indicates the new workings could reach up to 4,000 feet deep at full development. The original White Pine mine workings extended approximately 2,700 feet below the surface.

The project targets an underground deposit of chalcocite ore within the Nonesuch Shale formation, a massive geological blanket that stretches for miles across the western U.P. and represents one of the largest undeveloped copper deposits on the continent. According to the company’s recent pre-feasibility study, the proposed mine features an estimated initial capital development cost of $905.5 million and an expected 26-year mine life. Project plans call for an annual production rate of more than 100 million pounds of copper and silver concentrate.

The current design utilizes a brownfield approach. While developers plan to build a new mill and processing facility, they propose to expand the northern portion of the existing historic tailings storage basin from the previous mining lifecycle that ran from 1955 to 1995. Tailings from the processing mill would be thickened to a paste-like consistency before going into the tailings basin.

According to Kinterra Capital's official portfolio details, the historic White Pine mine operations produced more than 4.5 billion pounds of copper during its initial operational lifecycle from 1954 to 1995. While the company’s broader geological data identifies a total standalone resource exceeding 5.7 billion pounds of copper within the district, the newly submitted Part 632 application outlines a specific, modernized 26-year initial production phase.

The Geologic Resources Management Division of EGLE announced that the official public comment window will open at 8 a.m. on Nov. 4 and close at 5 p.m. on Dec. 2.

EGLE will host an in-person public informational meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday, November 4, at the Ontonagon Area Junior-Senior High School, on Parker Avenue. This meeting will be followed by an online public meeting at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 10, to present details of the Part 632 application and gather local comments and concerns.

Kinterra corporate statements project a final investment decision by the second half of 2027, with a target date for commercial production slated for 2030. The complete environmental impact assessments and technical filings span 2,103 pages and remain subject to state review.