The Yukon
Environmental and Socio-Economic Assessment Board (YESAB) has recommended that
the controversial Carmacks copper mine project can go ahead, providing that the
Western Copper
Corporation (TSX: WRN) complies with 148 conditions to mitigate potential
adverse impacts.
The tiny community of Carmacks with a year-round population of 500 is still
considered an important service center for mining and for transportation, a century after it was a
popular rest stop for the Yukon gold rush.
However, members of the Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation want Western
Copper to negotiate
a better environmental engineering solution as part of an Impacts Benefits
Agreement with the community.
Located 38km northwest of the Village of Carmacks and 192 km north of
Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory, the Carmacks copper project is planned to be an
open-pit operation that will yield about 14,000 tonnes of copper cathode annually. Western Copper has targeted
production to begin during the fourth quarter of 2010.