Western Copper and Gold

Western Copper and Gold Corporation is a Canadian exploration-stage company focused on the development of its primary asset, the Casino Project. The company's history traces back to May 2006, when it was spun off from Western Silver Corporation and began trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange. A pivotal moment occurred in November 2006 with the acquisition of Lumina Resources, which brought the Casino property in the Yukon Territory into its portfolio. The company changed its name from Western Copper Corporation to its current name in October 2011, the same year it began trading on the NYSE American exchange.

The company is led by President and CEO Sandeep Singh, who took on the role after Dr. Paul West-Sells' tenure concluded at the end of 2024. Dr. West-Sells had been with the company since 2006, holding various technical and executive positions and overseeing the advancement of the Casino Project through multiple feasibility studies. The company's founder, F. Dale Corman, was a veteran of the mining industry with a long career of developing significant mining projects, including the Penasquito mine in Mexico. His experience with large copper and gold projects was instrumental in the company's early direction.

Western Copper and Gold's business model is centered on advancing the Casino Project toward production. As a development-stage company, it does not currently generate revenue from mining operations. Its financial structure relies on raising capital, strategic investments, and managing expenses to fund exploration, engineering, and permitting activities. The company has secured strategic investments from major industry players, including Rio Tinto and Mitsubishi Materials Corporation, which provide both financial support and technical expertise. The business objective is to de-risk the project through comprehensive studies and regulatory approvals to ultimately construct and operate a mine.

The Casino Project, located approximately 300 km northwest of Whitehorse, Yukon, is one of the largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits in Canada. The project is envisioned as a large-scale, open-pit mine with a multi-decade lifespan. The operation will feature a concentrator to process sulphide ore for copper, gold, molybdenum, and silver, alongside a heap leach facility for oxide ore to recover gold, silver, and copper. A 2022 feasibility study highlighted the project's robust economics, outlining plans for a facility capable of processing 120,000 tonnes of ore per day. The deposit contains significant mineral reserves, making it a strategic asset for the supply of copper, a critical metal for the global energy transition, and gold. The company is actively engaged in the environmental and socio-economic assessment process, a crucial step toward receiving the necessary permits for construction and operation.

Keywords: copper mining, gold exploration, mineral development, Yukon mining, Casino Project, resource exploration, open-pit mining, feasibility study, strategic minerals, base metals, precious metals, mining investment, Rio Tinto, Mitsubishi Materials, Sandeep Singh, Dale Corman, Canadian mining, critical minerals, copper concentrate, heap leach, molybdenum, silver production, exploration stage company