Western Copper Corp. says its Casino gold-copper property in central Yukon could generate billions of dollars in revenue if a mine is built there.

Western Copper Corp. says a mine at its Casino property, located 380 kilometres northwest of Whitehorse, could produce significant amounts of gold, copper, silver and molybdenum. (Western Copper Corp.)

Having an open-pit mine at the Casino property would produce more than 400,000 ounces of gold annually, more than 200 million pounds of copper, and substantial amounts of silver and molybdenum, according to a pre-feasibility study the Vancouver-based company released this week.

"We're pretty excited about this and, you know, I think the Yukon should be very excited by this. It's a very, very solid project," Western Copper president Paul West-Sells told CBC News on Thursday.

The Casino site is located 380 kilometres northwest of Whitehorse and about 560 kilometres from a year-round port in Skagway, Alaska.

West-Sells said Western Copper's next steps are to obtain approvals from the Yukon Environmental and Socio-Economic Assessment Board and begin putting together a full feasibility study.

The company is also seeking partners in the Casino project, as West-Sells said it could cost more than $2 billion to bring a mine into production there.

"It's an amount of money that, for a company like Western Copper, is probably best done if we bring in a partner or look at some other people to sort of share that cost," he said.

Economic benefits

West-Sells said if the Casino project goes ahead, upwards of 2,000 jobs could be created during construction and 400 full-time jobs during production.

"It will be a long life and a great asset to the Yukon for years to come," he said.

But the Yukon Conservation Society says given Yukon's low unemployment rate and tight housing market, the economic benefits that mining companies are claiming for the territory could turn into hurdles such as housing crunches.

"I would argue that we're in a classic Fort McMurray situation," said Lewis Rifkind, the society's mining coordinator, referring to the oilsands boom in northern Alberta.

"Are we going to see a lot of illegal tent cities springing up because people have to stay somewhere?"

Rifkind wants the Yukon Environmental and Socio-Economic Assessment Board to ensure mining companies explain how their projects will benefit the territory — something that board chairman Stephen Mills said is being done.

Mills said mining companies that want to operate in Yukon are required to file socio-economic studies.

"Proponents need to provide us that information as well as their plans in order to minimize any negative impacts," Mills said.

Mills said the board reviewed 260 applications last year and expects to see at least that many this year.