Western Copper’s Casino project is likely to produce around 1.3bn mt of mineralized material annually from both the mill and heap leach, according to the company’s preliminary economic assessment (PEA).
The PEA estimates a total mine life of 25 years for the base case development and a 47-year mine life for the extended two-phase development producing 11mt of copper annually.
Western intends to expand the copper-moybdenum-gold project for creating a mineral reserve estimate with the goal of submitting an environmental assessment application under the Yukon Environmental and Socioeconomic Assessment Act, which is the first step in the permitting process, the company said in a statement on Jun 22.