White Pine North copper mine permit: EGLE opens public comment today, with a meeting tonight in Ontonagon on the $905 million U.P. plan

ONTONAGON — State regulators open a four-week public comment period today on a permit application for a new underground copper and silver mine at the old White Pine Mine site in Ontonagon County, and they will take questions in person tonight.

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy will hold an informational meeting from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4, at Ontonagon Area Junior-Senior High School, 701 Parker Ave. An online meeting follows at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10. Written comments are due by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 2.

White Pine Copper LLC filed the mining permit application on Sept. 15 under Part 632, the state law that governs nonferrous metallic mineral mining. The company is wholly owned by Kinterra Copper USA LLC, an affiliate of the private equity firm Kinterra Capital.

What the company wants to build

EGLE describes the project as an underground mine with an adjacent processing plant that would make copper and silver concentrate from chalcocite ore, much like the mining and processing done on the site from 1955 to 1995. The company says the district produced about 4.5 billion pounds of copper before the original mine shut down.

In a pre-feasibility study released Sept. 21, White Pine Copper put the initial construction cost at $905.5 million, with a 26-year mine plan. The study calls for mining about 15,000 metric tons of ore a day using a room-and-pillar method and producing more than 45,000 metric tons of payable copper a year. The company is aiming for a final investment decision in the second half of 2027 and commercial production in 2030, after roughly 30 months of construction.

The design reuses the old site instead of starting fresh. The company plans a new mill but would expand the northern part of the historic tailings basin, with mill tailings thickened to a paste before they go in, The Daily Mining Gazette reported. New workings could reach 4,000 feet deep, compared with about 2,700 feet for the original mine.

What is in the file

The application is not light reading. EGLE has posted the permit application in four volumes and the environmental impact assessment in 17 more, Volume II through Volume IIP, and warns that some files run as large as 390 megabytes. The Mining Gazette counted 2,103 pages of assessments and technical filings. Separate applications cover a water discharge permit, wetlands, dam safety and air quality.

EGLE’s project page lists a determination that the application is administratively complete, and the permit remains under review. The company says the project needs no federal permits because it involves no federal land or minerals, which leaves the decision to the state.

Why it matters in Ontonagon County

The company says the area has seen sustained economic decline since the mine closed in 1995. “Just as important, it means jobs and economic activity coming back to a part of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula that has waited a long time for it,” project director Chad Wolahan said in the September announcement. The company also points out that copper was added to the U.S. Geological Survey’s critical minerals list in 2025 and that the country relies on imports for more than 40% of the refined copper it uses.

How to weigh in

Email comments to EGLE-Mining-Comments@Michigan.gov or mail them to EGLE, GRMD, 416 Avenue C, Gwinn, MI 49841, by 5 p.m. Dec. 2. To join the Nov. 10 online meeting by phone, call 855-758-1310 and use meeting ID 861-1690-0473#; preregistration is not required. Anyone who needs language help or other accommodations can contact Tina Coluccio at ColuccioT@Michigan.gov or 906-236-4441 before the meeting.

Sources:
EGLE, “Public comment period for White Pine North project mining permit application, Ontonagon County” (comment dates, applicant, Part 632, where to send comments, accommodations contact), https://www.michigan.gov/egle/outreach/public-notice-calendar/2026/11/04/public-comment-period-white-pine-north-project-part-632-permit-application
EGLE, “Public meeting (in person) for White Pine North project mining permit application, Ontonagon County” (Nov. 4 time and place; Nov. 10 online meeting and phone line), https://www.michigan.gov/egle/outreach/public-notice-calendar/2026/11/04/public-meeting-white-pine-north-project-part-632-permit-application
EGLE, “White Pine North mine project” (application date, project description, ownership, permit status, application volumes), https://www.michigan.gov/egle/about/organization/geologic-resources-management/mining/nonferrous-metallic/white-pine
White Pine Copper LLC / Kinterra Capital, “White Pine Copper Announces Positive Pre-Feasibility Study” (Sept. 21, 2026; costs, mine plan, production, schedule, federal permits, Wolahan quote), https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/white-pine-copper-announces-positive-pre-feasibility-study-to-revive-one-of-americas-legendary-copper-districts-302884129.html
The Daily Mining Gazette, “Moving ahead” (Oct. 12, 2026; tailings plan, depth, other permit applications, page count), https://www.mininggazette.com/news/local-news/2026/10/moving-ahead/
Photo: James St. John, “Native copper-replaced cross-bedded sedimentary rocks (Nonesuch Shale, Mesoproterozoic; White Pine Mine, Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA) 2,” Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0), https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Native_copper-replaced_cross-bedded_sedimentary_rocks_(Nonesuch_Shale,_Mesoproterozoic;_White_Pine_Mine,_Upper_Peninsula_of_Michigan,_USA)_2_(16674008634).jpg

Upper Peninsula

Tags: White Pine North · Copper mining · EGLE · Ontonagon County · Public comment · Kinterra