BESSEMER — After opposition organized by the ProtectThePorkies campaign, a state-funded grant to the Copperwood Mine has been blocked by the Michigan Senate Appropriations Committee and has not been included in the 2025 budget.

The grant of $50 million in taxpayer revenue — developed by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and InvestUP — was unanimously approved by the Michigan Strategic Fund and passed through the House Appropriations Committee 21-5.

However, in the weeks prior to the July 1 budget deadline, the ProtectThe Porkies campaign mobilized Michigan residents to urge lawmakers to reject the grant.

There is currently a petition circulating of over 42,000 signatures calling for a halt to Copperwood’s development and the initial video calling for action received over 150,000 views on Instagram with over 2,000 people clicking the link to contact legislators.

The chief concern cited is the project’s close proximity to both Lake Superior and the Porcupine Mountains, Michigan’s largest state park, which holds the largest mixed coniferous-deciduous old-growth forest in the Midwest.

In the May 22 Senate Appropriations meeting, senators from both parties expressed concerns of their own about the use of state funding for the controversial project.

Copperwood’s future remains unclear. Page 50 of the grant text reads, “If the project is not supported, it will not move forward.”

Despite this, preconstruction and alterations to the environment have already begun.

A representative from the ProtectThePorkies campaign said it will continue to advocate against the mine.