Western Copper rolls back Casino permitting plans to 2025

Western Copper and Gold (TSX: WRN; NYSE: WRN) is planning to delay the submission of a key environmental permitting document for its Casino project in Yukon in the wake of Victoria Gold‘s (TSX: VGCX) Eagle mine accident.

The company has notified the Yukon Environmental and Socio-Economic Assessment Board (YESAB) that it will push back submission of its environmental and socio-economic effects statement to next July instead of later this year, it said on Monday.

Western Copper didn’t directly connect the delay with the Eagle heap leach spill, which occurred in late June.

However, the incident has highlighted the sensitivities of Indigenous groups towards mining, after the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun called for a temporary halt to mining activities on its traditional territory. The Yukon government said in response last week it’s willing to consider pausing some aspects of mining activity. 

Casino lies within the traditional territory of the Selkirk First Nation. A small portion in the project’s northern area also lies within the traditional territory of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in. First Nations groups had previously expressed concerns about building an access road through hunting grounds and proposed tailings arrangements.

“We look forward to compiling all the hard work and proper science that has already gone into the project and moving steadily towards submission,” CEO Sandeep Singh said, adding that the company is closely monitoring the situation in Yukon following the Eagle mine incident.

“The company welcomes the proposed investigation of the failure and believes that Casino’s assessment timeline will more than allow for the incorporation of any lessons learned through that process,” he added.

Revised guidelines

Western Copper received revised guidelines from YESAB last September detailing the information it needs to include in its environmental and socioeconomic statement. It says updated work planning and schedule mapping completed since then and further conversations with First Nations have given it a clearer picture of the timelines to produce the statement. Those revised guidelines incorporate changes made to its development plans since 2016. 

The statement would form the basis of Western Copper’s application to YESAB’s panel review, which is the highest level of environmental and socio-economic assessment in the territory.

Casino is located on Crown land about 150 km northwest of Carmacks, and 300 km northwest of Whitehorse. Western Copper has been developing the project since 2008, and in 2014 submitted its project proposal. In 2016, the Casino project was referred by the YESAB executive committee for panel review, becoming the first in Yukon’s history.

“Western is committed to ensuring a robust review of the Casino project, as the first and only project in the Yukon going through the highest level of review and relying on the most up-to-date methodologies in environmental assessment,” CEO Sandeep Singh said.

Once the environmental and socioeconomic effects statement is submitted, YESAB will determine if it meets the requirements set out in its revised 2023 guidelines, and if so, a panel will be established to lead the technical analysis of the statement.

The panel will then hold a public hearing and issue its recommendations, which will be reviewed by territorial and federal government departments as well as the two Yukon First Nations before a decision on permits is made.

The proposed Casino open-pit mine is expected to use heap leaching as well as milling and flotation concentration to produce around 6.9 million oz. of gold, 36.1 million oz. of silver, 4.2 billion lb. of copper and 346 million lb. of molybdenum over a 27-year life.

According to a 2022 feasibility study, the Casino project holds 1.2 billion tonnes in proven and probable reserves grading 0.2% copper, 0.22 gram gold per tonne and 0.02% molybdenum for 5.1 billion lb. copper, 8.5 million oz. gold and 572 million oz. molybdenum.

The project has a $2.3 billion after-tax net present value at an 8% discount rate, an 18.1% internal rate of return, a three-year payback period and $10 billion in cash flow over the mine life. Sustaining capital would be $751 million for total capital costs of $4.4 billion.