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MINING Western Copper and Gold ��� no gamble with their Casino Project by Brandon Larson The Casino Project, 100%-owned by Western Copper and Gold Corp. [WRNTSX, NYSE MKT] has changed hands a number of times through various mergers, consolidations and spin offs since its discovery in 1969. Although various smaller scale drill programs were completed on the property early on, it wasn���t until 1991 that serious, larger scale drill programs were conducted. Big Creek Resources Ltd. and Archer, Cathro & Associated (1981) Ltd. entered an option agreement with Casino Silver Mines Ltd. and performed 4,729 metres of drilling over 21 holes. Later in 1991, Pacific Sentinel Gold was formed as a result of a merger agreement between Big Creek and Casino Silver along with the renegotiation of the Archer Cathro management contract. In 1994, Pacific Sentinel completed a 68,000-metre, 218hole drill program costing $4.5 million that was also accompanied by a number of studies. In 1997, Great Basin Gold Ltd. was formed through the merger of Pacific Sentinel and Consolidated North Coast Industries Ltd. Another series of acquisitions and option agreements led to the creation of Western Copper Corp. and another 26,000 metres of drilling was completed between 2008 and 2010. Finally, in October 2011, Western Copper spun out all of its assets except Casino and officially changed their name to Western Copper and Gold Corp. The Casino property is a porphyry deposit located 380km northeast of Whitehorse, Yukon. On January 7, 2013 the company announced the results of their definitive feasibility study. The study recommended that the project be 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. Some of the highlights were: MARCH 2013 Initial Capital Investment $2.46 billion Payback period* 3.0 years NPV pre-tax* (8% discount)$2.82 billion NPV after-tax* (8% discount) 1.83 billion $ IRR pre-tax* (100% equity) 24.0% IRR after-tax* (100% equity) 20.1% Total Reserve 1.12 billion tonnes Mill operation 22 years Heap leach operation 18 years *Based on long term metal prices (discussed in ���Financial Results��� from January 7, 2013 press release) It should be noted that at January 2013 spot prices for gold, copper, molybdenum and silver the payback period would be 2.6 years. The company is expecting that the long term prices of gold, copper and silver will all decline while molybdenum will increase, therefore predicting the payback period of 3 years. Average expected production per year for first four years: Gold 399,000 ounces Copper 245 million pounds Molybdenum 15 million pounds Silver 1.8 million ounces ���We are enormously pleased with the Casino Feasibility Study���, said Dale Corman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. ���This study establishes Casino as one of the very few world-class, long life, copper-gold projects with robust economics at a feasibly study level. The Yukon is a top mining district, and we look forward to securing permits as our next step of development.��� The report went on to recommend that a new 132km all-weather road be constructed from the end of the existing Freegold Road. Initial permitting for the entire project is expected to take two years and barring any unforeseen circumstances, construction would begin in 2016. n Armed and masked protestors attack Greek mining project Eldorado Gold Corp. [ELD-TSX; EGO-NYSE] reported that shortly after midnight on February 17, 2013 a masked and armed group of approximately 50 persons illegally entered the Skouries Project in the Municipality of Aristotle, Halkidiki, Greece. The armed attackers assaulted two security personnel. One sustained injuries which required hospitalization and has subsequently been released. The group then set fire to temporary construction offices as well as several trucks and heavy equipment, most of which are owned by local contractors. The fires have been extinguished and the site secured. The company is cooperating with the police and other relevant authorities to ensure the ongoing safety of employees and assets. ���While we respect the right of individuals to voice their opinions in a safe, legal and responsible manner we fully condemn any activities that put the safety of our employees, contractors and assets at risk,��� stated Paul Wright, CEO. ���The company is in possession of all permits required to operate legally at its projects in Halkidiki. These projects are licensed under an Environmental Impact Assessment which consisted of an exhaustive technical review as well as comprehensive public consultations. In Halkidiki, as in all our mining operations throughout the world, we operate to the highest environmental standards complying with all local, national and interntional laws and regulations.��� Eldorado is a gold producing, exploration and development company active in Turkey, China, Brazil, Greece, and Romania. The Skouries property, located on the Chalkidiki Peninsula of northern Greece, hosts a copper-gold porphyry deposit with proven and probable reserves of 3.6 million oz gold and 0.7 million tonnes copper. n www.resourceworld.com 37