SUMMARY
Western Copper and Gold is solely focused on developing the world-class Casino Project, located in the politically stable Yukon Territory, Canada.
You can read more about the Casino Project below, or visit the Casino Project website.
Western has been developing the Casino Project since 2008. Historically, two pre-feasibility studies and a full feasibility study were published on the project. In 2020, an updated resource on the project was released, in June 2021 a Preliminary Economic Assessment was published and most recently, in June 2022 a feasibility study was released showing robust economics, the report is available here.
A Project Proposal for the Casino Mine was submitted to the executive committee of the Yukon Environmental and Socioeconomic Assessment Board (YESAB) in January 2014 and underwent several rounds of adequacy review information requests from 2014 through 2016. In February 2016, the Executive Committee of YESAB referred the Casino Project to a Panel Review, the highest level of environmental and socio-economic assessment administered by YESAB. YESAB’s Environmental and Socio-economic Effects (ESE) Statement Guidelines, which are currently under review, outline all the information to be submitted in the Casino Project ESE Statement.
LOCATION
The Casino porphyry copper-gold-molybdenum deposit is located in west central Yukon, in the northwest trending Dawson Range mountains, 300 km northwest of the territorial capital of Whitehorse.
To the west, Newmont is developing the Coffee Project. To the northwest, White Gold Corp. has a large number of claims and is actively exploring in partnership with Agnico-Eagle and Kinross. Approximately 100 km to the east, Minto Explorations Ltd. operates the Minto Mine, which produces copper concentrate.
The Project is located on Yukon Government Crown Land approximately 150 km northwest of Carmacks, and 300 km northwest of Whitehorse, Yukon. The entire footprint of the Project lies within the Traditional Territory of the Selkirk First Nation (SFN). A small portion in the north of the Project Area also lies within the Traditional Territory of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in. The Traditional Territory of Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation lies south of the Project Area. The Project is wholly within the asserted Traditional Territory of the White River First Nation, and upstream of the Kluane First Nation Traditional Territory.
The Casino Property lies within the Whitehorse Mining District and consists of 1,136 full and partial Quartz Claims and 55 Placer Claims acquired in accordance with the Yukon Quartz Mining Act. The total area covered by Casino Quartz Claims is 21,126.02 ha. The total area covered by Casino Placer Claims is 490.34 ha.
In mid 2019, the Company acquired the adjacent property to the west referred to as the Canadian Creek property from Cariboo Rose Resources Ltd.
RESOURCE
The Mineral Resource has been updated for the Feasibility Study, based on an updated resource block model developed during December 2021. The updated model incorporated 2020 drilling and updated geologic models that were not available for previous studies. The Mineral Resource includes Mineral Resources amenable to milling and flotation concentration methods (“Mill Material”) and Mineral Resources amenable to heap leach recovery methods (“Leach Material”). Mill Material includes the supergene oxide (“SOX”), supergene sulphide (“SUS”) and hypogene sulphide (“HYP”) mineral zones.
Leach material is oxide dominant leach cap (“LC”) mineralization. The emphasis of leaching is the recovery of gold in the leach cap.
The first two following tables present the Mineral Resource for mill and leach material. The third table presents the Mineral Resource for combined Mill and Leach Material for copper, gold, and silver. The Mineral Resource for molybdenum is as shown with Mill Material since it will not be recovered for leach material. The Mineral Resource is inclusive of the Mineral Reserve.
Mineral Resource for Mill Material at C$6.11 NSR Cutoff
| Resource Category |
Tonnes (Mt) |
NSR (C$/t) |
Copper (%) |
Gold (g/t) |
Moly (%) |
Silver (g/t) |
CuEq (%) |
Copper (Mlbs) |
Gold (Moz) |
Moly (Mlbs) |
Silver (Moz) |
| Measured | 144.9 | 40.09 | 0.30 | 0.38 | 0.024 | 2.1 | 0.64 | 953 | 1.8 | 75.2 | 9.6 |
| Indicated | 2,114.2 | 20.34 | 0.14 | 0.16 | 0.015 | 1.4 | 0.29 | 6,493 | 11.1 | 716.0 | 93.5 |
| M+I | 2,259.0 | 21.60 | 0.15 | 0.18 | 0.016 | 1.4 | 0.31 | 7,446 | 12.9 | 791.2 | 103.1 |
| Inferred | 1,371.5 | 15.41 | 0.10 | 0.14 | 0.009 | 1.1 | 0.21 | 3,029 | 6.1 | 286.0 | 50.5 |
Mineral Resource for Leach material at C$6.61 NSR Cutoff
| Resource Category |
Tonnes (Mt) |
NSR (C$/t) |
Copper (%) |
Gold (g/t) |
Silver (g/t) |
AuEq (g/t) |
Copper (Mlbs) |
Gold (Moz) |
Silver (Moz) |
| Measured | 43.3 | 23.79 | 0.05 | 0.44 | 2.7 | 0.47 | 51.5 | 0.62 | 3.7 |
| Indicated | 188.4 | 11.47 | 0.04 | 0.21 | 1.7 | 0.23 | 145.4 | 1.27 | 10.4 |
| M+I | 231.7 | 13.77 | 0.04 | 0.25 | 1.9 | 0.27 | 196.9 | 1.88 | 14.1 |
| Inferred | 40.9 | 11.33 | 0.05 | 0.20 | 1.4 | 0.22 | 46.9 | 0.27 | 1.9 |
Mineral Resource for Copper, Gold, and Silver (Mill and Leach)
| Resource Category |
Tonnes (Mt) |
NSR (C$/t) |
Copper (%) |
Gold (g/t) |
Silver (g/t) |
Copper (Mlbs) |
Gold (Moz) |
Silver (Moz) |
| Measured | 188.2 | 36.34 | 0.24 | 0.40 | 2.2 | 1,005.0 | 2.4 | 13.3 |
| Indicated | 2,302.6 | 19.61 | 0.13 | 0.17 | 1.4 | 6,638.1 | 12.4 | 103.9 |
| M+I | 2,490.7 | 20.88 | 0.14 | 0.18 | 1.5 | 7,643.1 | 14.8 | 117.2 |
| Inferred | 1,412.5 | 15.30 | 0.10 | 0.14 | 1.2 | 3,075.5 | 6.3 | 52.3 |
Notes:
- The Mineral Resources have an effective date of 29 April 2022 and the estimate was prepared using the definitions in CIM Definition Standards (10 May 2014).
- All figures are rounded to reflect the relative accuracy of the estimate and therefore numbers may not appear to add precisely.
- Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
- Mineral Resources for leach material are based on prices of US$3.50/lb copper, US$1650/oz gold and US$22/oz silver.
- Mineral Resources for mill material are based on prices of US$3.50/lb copper, US$1650/oz gold, US$22/oz silver, and US$12.00/lb molybdenum.
- Mineral Resources are based on NSR Cutoff of C$6.61/t for leach material and C$6.11/t for mill material.
- NSR value for leach material is NSR (C$/t) = $15.21 x copper (%) + $50.51 x gold (g/t) + $0.210 x silver (g/t), based on copper recovery of 18%, gold recovery of 80% and silver recovery of 26%.
- NSR value for hypogene sulphide mill material is NSR (C$/t) = $73.81 x copper (%) + $41.16 x gold (g/t) + $213.78 x moly (%) + $0.386 x silver (g/t), based on recoveries of 92.2% copper, 66% gold, 50% silver and 78.6% molybdenum.
- NSR value for supergene (SOX and SUS) mill material is NSR (C$/t) = $80.06 x recoverable copper (%) + $43.03 x gold (g/t) + $142.11 x moly (%) + $0.464 x silver (g/t), based on recoveries of 69% gold, 60% silver and 52.3% molybdenum. Recoverable copper = 0.94 x (total copper – soluble copper).
- Mineral Resources are reported in relation to a conceptual constraining pit shell in order to demonstrate reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction, as required by the definition of Mineral Resource in NI 43-101; mineralization lying outside of the pit shell is excluded from the Mineral Resource.
- AuEq and CuEq values are based on prices of US$3.50/lb copper, US$1650/oz gold, US$22/oz silver, and US$12.00/lb moly, and account for all metal recoveries and smelting/refining charges.
- The NSR calculations also account for smelting and refining charges and payables.
MINERAL RESERVES
The Mineral Reserve estimate is based on an updated open pit mine plan and mine production schedule using commodity prices of US$3.25 per pound copper, US$1,550 per ounce gold, US$12.00 per pound molybdenum and US$22.00 per ounce silver.
All of the mineralization comprised in the Mineral Reserve estimate with respect to the Casino Project is contained on mineral titles controlled by Western Copper and Gold. The following table presents the Mineral Reserve that is the basis for this Study.
Mineral Reserve
| Tonnes | NSR | Cu | Au | Mo | Ag | CuEq | Cu | Au | Mo | Ag | ||
| Mill Ore Reserve: | (Mt) | ($/t) | (%) | (g/t) | (%) | (g/t) | (%) | (Mlbs) | (Moz) | (Mlbs) | (Moz) | |
| Proven Mineral Reserve | 140.1 | 38.50 | 0.31 | 0.39 | 0.024 | 2.1 | 0.67 | 944 | 1.8 | 74.9 | 9.4 | |
| Probable Mineral Reserve | 1,076.9 | 23.68 | 0.17 | 0.19 | 0.021 | 1.6 | 0.36 | 4,135 | 6.7 | 497.1 | 55.5 | |
| Proven/Probable Reserve | 1,217.1 | 25.38 | 0.19 | 0.22 | 0.021 | 1.7 | 0.40 | 5,079 | 8.5 | 571.9 | 64.9 | |
| Tonnes | NSR | Au | Cu | Mo | Ag | AuEq | Au | Cu | Mo | Ag | ||
| Heap Leach Reserve: | (Mt) | ($/t) | (g/t) | (%) | (%) | (g/t) | (g/t) | (Moz) | (Mlbs) | (Mlbs) | (Moz) | |
| Proven Mineral Reserve | 42.9 | 22.52 | 0.45 | 0.055 | N/A | 2.7 | 0.47 | 0.62 | 51.8 | N/A | 3.7 | |
| Probable Mineral Reserve | 166.8 | 11.14 | 0.22 | 0.031 | N/A | 1.8 | 0.23 | 1.17 | 113.5 | N/A | 9.4 | |
| Proven/Probable Reserve | 209.6 | 13.47 | 0.26 | 0.036 | N/A | 1.9 | 0.28 | 1.78 | 165.3 | N/A | 13.1 | |
Notes:
- The Mineral Reserve estimate has an effective date of June 13, 2022 and was prepared using the CIM Definition Standards (10 May 2014).
- Columns may not sum exactly due to rounding.
- Mineral Reserves are based on commodity prices of US$3.25/lb Cu, US$1550/oz Au, US$12.00/lb Mo, and US$22.00/oz Ag.
- Mineral Reserves amenable to milling are based on NSR cutoffs that vary by time period to balance mine and plant production capacities. They range from a low of $6.11/t to a high of $25.00/t.
- NSR value for supergene (SOX and SUS) mill material is NSR (C$/t) = $73.63 x recoverable copper (%) + $40.41 x gold (g/t) + $142.11 x moly (%) + 0.464 x silver (g/t), based on recoveries of 69% gold, 52.3% molybdenum and 60% silver. Recoverable copper = 0.94 x (total copper – soluble copper).
- NSR value for hypogene (HYP) mill material is NSR (C$/t) = $67.88 x copper (%) + $38.66 x gold (g/t) + $213.78 x moly (%) + $0.386 x silver (g/t), based on recoveries of 92.2% copper, 66% gold, 78.6% molybdenum and 50% silver.
- Mineral Reserves amenable to heap leaching are based on an NSR cutoff of $6.61/t.
- NSR value for leach material is NSR (C$/t) = $14.05 x copper (%) + $47.44 x gold (g/t) + $0.210 x silver (g/t), based on recoveries of 18% copper, 80% gold and 26% silver.
- AuEq and CuEq values are based on prices of US$ 3.25/lb Cu, US$ 1550/oz Au, US$ 12.00/lb Mo, and US$ 22.00/oz Ag, and account for all metal recoveries and smelting/refining charges.
- The NSR calculations also account for smelter/refinery treatment charges and payables.
FEASIBILITY STUDY
The Feasibility Study (FS) considered the Casino Project being constructed as an open pit mine, with a concentrator processing nominally 120,000 tonnes per day and a gold heap leach facility processing nominally 25,000 tonnes per day.
The FS supersedes all previous studies and incorporates the updated mineral resource with an effective date of December 2021. The FS also incorporates outcomes of the Best Available Tailings Technology Study (the BATT Study) completed in 2018 with participation by First Nations, YESAB and the Yukon Government. The design concept for the tailings management facility (TMF) also reflects the guidance received from the Independent Engineering Review Panel.
The FS examines the development of the Casino Project, which comprises the processing of 1.3 billion tonnes of mineralized material for both the mill and heap leach, with deposition of mill tailings and mine waste in the TMF facility consistent with the design concepts considered during the BATT Study as a base case development.
Highlights
- $2.3 billion NPV (after-tax (8%)
- 18.1% IRR (after-tax)
- Cashflow over the first four years of $951 million per year
- Base case development contemplates 27-year mine life
- Payback period of 3.3 years
- LOM strip ratio of 0.43:1
Note using Base Case metal prices of: Cu: US$3.60/lb, Au: US$1,700/oz, Ag: US$22/oz, Mo: US$14/lb
