Shares in Highland Copper Company Inc (TSX-V:HI) surged on Friday after the company announced a 46% increase in resources at its Copperwood underground copper and silver mine in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
During afternoon trade the Quebec-based junior was exchanging hands for $0.16, up 18.5% on the TSX Venture Exchange, in more than double usual trading volumes. Highland Copper is now worth $73.5 million.
In a statement Highland Copper said the measured and indicated resources at Copperwood in Gogebic County are now estimated at 42.5m tonnes, grading an average of 1.59% copper and 3.9 g/t silver.
Copperwood’s contained metal hosted in sediments in the historic district – responsible for some three-quarters of US copper output in the 1800s and early part of the last century – swells to 1.5 billion pounds of copper (680,000 tonnes) and 5.4 million oz of silver.
A feasibility study completed in 2012 estimated construction costs of $213.5 million and according to the company it has enough cash to complete a new study by the second quarter of next year. Highland Copper also owns the nearby past producing White Pine project with historical resources of 1.7 billion pounds of copper.
Private equity firms Greenstone Resources and Orion Mine Finance respectively hold 17.6% and 14.6% of the stock while Osisko Gold Royalties owns a 15.8% stake.
Source: www.mining.com
