Pentagon money will pay half the cost of deeper nickel drilling in the U.P.’s Baraga Basin

BARAGA, Mich. — Washington will cover half the cost of a new search for high-grade nickel and copper in the western Upper Peninsula, in the same geologic basin as the country’s only working nickel mine.

Trans Superior Resources Inc., the Michigan subsidiary of Canada’s Bitterroot Resources Ltd., has been awarded up to $5,223,431 by the U.S. Department of War under Title III of the Defense Production Act, the company announced. The money comes on a 50-50 cost-share basis, so the partners put up a dollar for every federal dollar spent on drilling, geophysical and geochemical surveys, permits and related labor and equipment.

The target is the LM Project, a joint venture that Trans Superior runs and owns 51% of. The rest is held by Below Exploration Inc., a privately owned Michigan company. The property lies in the Baraga Basin, which reaches into Baraga and Marquette counties and includes Talon Metals’ Eagle Mine, the only nickel mine in the United States, according to the company.

Earlier drilling on the property by Bitterroot and Below, 26 core holes totaling 7,565 meters and reaching about 300 meters down, outlined a magma conduit, a channel that once carried molten rock. Ten of those holes hit nickel-copper mineralization, the company said.

The federal award is aimed at the deeper part of that conduit, roughly 400 to 700 meters below the surface, which has not been tested. Trans Superior plans to begin about 15 to 20 core holes, each 500 to 700 meters long, in the fourth quarter of this year. Electromagnetic surveys run down the boreholes are meant to steer the crews toward any concentrated deposits.

Michael Carr, chief executive of both Bitterroot and Trans Superior, called the award “a significant investment in our shared goal to locate a high-grade domestic source of nickel.” He said the money, which does not require the company to issue new shares, lowers the partners’ cost of capital and lets them restart “an aggressive drilling program.”

The work is expected to continue through 2028, and Bitterroot plans to hire local geologists and contractors for drilling and access roads, according to a release from InvestUP, the Upper Peninsula’s regional economic development organization, as reported by The Mining Gazette and the Daily Press.

InvestUP tied the award to a broader revival of mining interest in the western U.P., pointing to ongoing operations at Eagle Mine and the Copperwood and White Pine copper projects. The federal money covers exploration only; the company’s announcement does not describe plans for a mine at the LM site.

Sources:
Bitterroot Resources Ltd., “U.S. Department of War Invests US$5.22 Million in the LM Nickel-Copper Project, Michigan,” Sept. 15, 2026, https://bitterrootresources.com/news/u.s-department-of-war-invests-us-5.22-million-in-the-lm-nickel-copper-project-michigan/
The Mining Gazette, “Grant to fund nickel exploration,” Oct. 5, 2026, https://www.mininggazette.com/news/local-news/2026/10/grant-to-fund-nickel-exploration/
Daily Press (Escanaba), “Federal grant of $5.2M to fund western UP nickel exploration,” Oct. 6, 2026, https://www.dailypress.net/news/local-news/2026/10/federal-grant-of-5-2m-to-fund-western-up-nickel-exploration/
Photo: Office of Governor Mark Dayton & Lt. Governor Tina Smith, “Governor Dayton Tours Eagle Mine in Michigan (22630109051),” Oct. 30, 2015, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/), cropped and color-corrected, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Governor_Mark_Dayton_Governor_Dayton_Tours_Eagle_Mine_in_Michigan_(22630109051).jpg

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