Highland Copper Company Inc. provided an update on the status of its key projects. Following the sale of its exploration properties, an equity raise of CAD 26.0 million in September last year, the appointment of six new directors with skills to support the Company's experienced management team in the path towards construction and production, Highland Copper believes the time is right to develop the Copperwood and White Pine Projects in Michigan. The fundamentals for copper remain strong in light of the high demand for electric vehicles and renewable energy, while the supply side struggles to keep up.

The supply imbalance is particularly notable in the US where the State of Michigan is prioritizing funding for industries that support electrification. Corporate Update: The Company is increasing its efforts to develop its two 100%-owned projects as the best way to create value in the short term. Copperwood and White Pine North both have significant contained copper resources totaling 4.8 billion pounds in the Measured and Indicated category (182.7 million tonnes at 1.20% copper grade), and 3.5 billion pounds in the Inferred category (148.7 million tonnes at 1.08% copper grade).

The two deposits are in sedimentary rock and through a flotation process would produce a clean concentrate that is attractive to various smelters and traders. Previous metallurgical tests have also indicated that the concentrate can be leached to produce copper cathodes at site which would be favourable from an Environmental, Sustainability and Governance ("ESG") perspective. The Company's most advanced asset, the Copperwood project, has a Feasibility Study dated effective June 14, 2018.

Copperwood is expected to produce approximately 30,000 tonnes of copper per year for 11 years. The production is generated from the mining and processing of 2.4 million tonnes per year at an average diluted grade of 1.43% copper grade. Per the Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") dated effective September 22, 2019, the White Pine project is expected to produce approximately 45,000 tonnes of copper per year for more than 20 years.

The production is generated from mining and processing 5.4 million tonnes per year at an average diluted grade of 0.98% copper grade. Copperwood Feasibility Study Update: In light of changes in the market and the industry in the last few years, the Company decided to update the previous Feasibility Study to reflect increases on many input costs for the capital expenditures needed for construction as well as for the operating expenditures to produce and transport concentrate. At the same time, opportunities will be considered to mitigate cost increases to provide the Company with a plan to deliver on budget and on schedule.

A key opportunity being assessed will be the inclusion of continuous miners to develop and produce in the underground mine. Highland will also assess the appropriate long-term copper price to use in the updated Feasibility Study, which is expected to be higher than the $3.15 per pound used in the 2018 Feasibility Study. The applicability of ore sorting to eliminate waste from dilution and increase the grade at the plant is also under study.

All permits needed to start construction have been received and the project is currently awaiting an operating permit at the federal level for the construction and operation of a pumping station on Lake Superior. Highland is actively engaged with the US Army Corps of Engineers to assist with their approval of this final required permit. The Company expects to issue the updated Feasibility Study before the end of the year.

White Pine North Update: The White Pine mine operated for approximately fifty years and produced more than 5 billion pounds of copper. This past activity provides good information on geology, mining and processing of the ore, which is of significant help in the design process and in the reduction of risk usually attributed to a new project. Highland Copper believes that the opportunity at White Pine North is significant, as demonstrated by the 2019 PEA study.

The continuity of the deposit considered in the PEA mine plan represents 133.4 million tonnes at 1.07% copper grade in the Measured and Indicated category and 97.2 million tonnes at 1.03% copper grade in the Inferred category. The White Pine North project is robust enough to warrant pursuing a Feasibility Study. A drilling program will be conducted this coming winter with the goal of upgrading the Inferred resources into the Measured and Indicated category to be used in a Feasibility Study.