Issue link: http://resourceworld.uberflip.com/i/783264
50 www.resourceworld.com F E B R U A R Y / M A R C H 2 0 1 7 British Columbia Arizona C A N A D A U S A Sombrero Butte Van Dyke Mineral Mountain Schaft Creek Phoenix Tucson Eaglehead Stewart Dease Lake Vancouver 403-264-2820 Toll Free 844-464-2820 investor@copperfoxmetals.com www.copperfoxmetals.com Canadian Exploration and Development Company Focused on copper in Canada and the USA Large holdings of copper and gold reserves and resources Exploring within established copper districts TSX.V: CUU OTCPink: CPFXF Western Copper and Gold progressing toward production WESTERN COPPER AND GOLD CORP. [WRN-TSX, NYSE MKT] is in permitting for its 100%-owned Casino copper-gold-silver-molybdenum project 300 km northwest of Whitehorse, Yukon. The open pit operation, which will be the largest mine in the Yukon, will be a combination of conventional flotation mill and heap leaching. Together, the combined mill and heap leach ore total proven and probable reserves are 4.5 billion lbs copper and 8.9 million oz gold with 5.4 billion lbs copper and 9 million oz gold inferred. "We're looking to get our updated panel application complete by year end. As part of that, there are a number of activities under way, one of which is how we handle tailings," said Dr. Paul West-Sells, President and CEO. An Independent Engineering Review Panel confirmed the general design concept of the Casino Project tailings management facility. "The Review Panel recommended a couple of changes that would make the tailings facility better," said Dr. West-Sells. "A lot of this has to do with how the public and regulators look at tailings management in a post-Mt. Polley world. We look at the impact on the environment if there is an unlikely failure of the facility and how to minimize impact. In our case, it was moving the most deleterious material to the back of the facil - ity and providing additional security around it so it would not move in the event of a failure and also lowering the amount of water stored in that facility." "The Casino deposit is a weathered copper-gold porphyry so the surface of the deposit is enriched in gold and depleted in copper. That is mined first and put onto a gold heap leach pad," said Dr. West-Sells. "Even in the first year of mining, we will begin to get ore for the mill which will start up about two years after heap leaching starts. The bulk of the value is in the mill ore." "The 22-year mine life is the reserve but beneath that reserve is an additional 1.7 billion tonnes inferred," said Dr. West-Sells. "If that inferred resource was turned into reserves, mine life would be 55 years and it's still open beneath that inferred resource." The planned access road follows, for the most part, a number of existing roads. "The existing roads need to be upgraded and new sections built," said Dr. West-Sells. "We worked with First Nations and other stakeholders to ensure they're comfortable with the route. The territorial government will pay to upgrade the first section of the road and then will pay 30% for the second section." Ferus Natural Gas Fuels will truck in liquid natural gas for power generation which will be cheaper and cleaner than diesel. "By the end of 2017, we expect to have our application to kick off the panel review. We expect it will take at least two years to get through the review and receive initial construc - tion licenses. We're looking at 2019 or beginning 2020, before beginning to turn over some dirt," said Dr. West-Sells. Construction is four years and, after two years, heap leaching starts, then after four years, milling starts. n COPPER Mary Mioska, Senior Environmental Manager for Casino Mining Corp and David Silas, First Nations Engagement Advisor for Yukon College taking water quality samples, Casino Mine Project, Yukon. Photo courtesy Western Copper and Gold Corp.