Western Copper and Gold (TSX: WRN; NYSE American: WRN) applauds the recent announcement by Natural Resources Canada that it approved $40 million to undertake pre-feasibility studies to advance a high-voltage transmission line network connecting the Yukon electrical grid to the North American grid in British Columbia.
The funds will be provided through the federal government’s Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund.
Western Copper has advanced its 100%-owned Casino copper-gold project, 300 km northwest of Whitehorse, Yukon, to the permitting stage.
The feasibility study prepared two years ago divided resources into two classes: material suitable for milling and material that will be leached.
The measured and indicated resource for milling was 2.26 billion tonnes grading 0.15% copper, 0.18 g/t gold, 0.016% molybdenum, and 1.4 g/t silver or 0.31% copper equivalent. The inferred portion is 1.37 billion tonnes at 0.10% copper, 0.14 g/t gold, 0.009% molybdenum, and 11 g/t silver or 0.21% copper equivalent.
Leachable resources in the measured and indicated category total 231.7 million tonnes grading 0.04% copper, 0.25 g/t gold and 1.9 g/t silver or 1.9 g/t gold equivalent. The inferred portion is 40.9 million tonnes at 0.05% copper, 0.20 g/t gold and 1.4 g/t silver or 0.22 g/t gold equivalent.
A conventional open pit mine is planned over a period of 27 years after a 3-year preproduction period. The cost to develop the Casino project has been given as $3.62 billion plus sustaining capital of $751 million.
The feasibility study can be read on www.WesternCopperAndGold.com.
