Infrastructure Progress Infrastructure progress
A Whitehorse-based contractor, Pelly Construction, won a C$29.6 million contract in 2021 to construct a new road and bridge for the Carmacks Bypass Project, a key component of the Yukon Resource Gateway Program and a collaborative effort between the Government of Yukon and Little Salmon/Carmacks First Nation.
Scheduled for completion in 2024, it will allow industrial vehicles to bypass the community of Carmacks and improve access to area mining activities such as those underway at Western Copper and Gold Corp.'s Casino copper-gold mine project. It also will enable the Little Salmon/Carmacks First Nation to benefit from contracting, education, and training associated with the project.
The Yukon Resource Gateway Program aims to improve infrastructure that accesses Yukon's most mineral-rich areas. It will provide funding for roughly 650 kilometers (403 miles) of needed upgrades to existing roads in areas of high mineral and mining potential.
In late October, Western Copper and Goldreported completion of its 2021 exploration and drilling program and the start of a feasibility study at Casino. Its exploration campaign, designed with input from investor Rio Tinto, included metallurgical, geotechnical, and resource confirmation drilling, along with a geotechnical program targeting ground conditions for proposed tailings management and heap leaching facilities.
A preliminary economic assessment completed in June envisions a mine at Casino producing 6.5 million ounces of gold, 34.4 million oz of silver, 4.1 billion pounds of copper, and 330 million lb of molybdenum from concentrator and heap leach facilities. The feasibility study is set for completion in the second quarter of 2022.