Western Copper to address First Nation's concerns on Carmacks project

Executives with Western Copper Corp.'s proposed copper mine in central Yukon say they'll address concerns raised by the area's Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation.

Late last week, Western Copper won essential environmental approvals for its Carmacks copper project from the Yukon government.

But it could take the Vancouver-based company at least another nine months before construction starts at the mine site, located about 38 kilometres northwest of Carmacks. Officials still have yet to obtain a water use licence and a quartz mining licence for the project.

Claire Derome, Western Copper's vice-president of government and community relations, told CBC News that environmental concerns related to the construction and operation of the mine — concerns raised by the Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation — will be addressed in detail when the company applies for the outstanding licences.

"I live here in the Yukon and I don't want to have any ... problems with an operation that I would be responsible for," Derome said in an interview.

"I'm not the engineer, but I'm part of the senior management of that company and I have as much interest as anybody to leave a future that is ... clean and that I can be proud of."

In the past, the Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation has threatened legal action if the copper project is approved. It has not indicated what it plans to do in light of the government's approval.

The First Nation and environmental groups are concerned about the proposed mine's risks to the Yukon River ecosystem, since Western Copper proposes using an acid heap leach method to extract copper from the rock.

But company officials say that over its 20-year development, the copper project has been subjected to the strictest mining regulations in Yukon's history.

Derome said that with millions of dollars invested in the proposed mine, her company is committed to doing a good job.

"If the company was not committed to get this project going, it would have sold these assets a long time ago," she said. "So it's not a fly-by-night company."

Western Copper hopes to begin construction at the Carmacks copper site next summer.