Western Copper and GOLD Announces Drilling Program at Casino and Provides Update ON Government Infrastructure Development
WESTERN COPPER AND GOLD ANNOUNCES
DRILLING PROGRAM AT CASINO AND
PROVIDES UPDATE ON GOVERNMENT
INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT
VANCOUVER, BC
,
Aug. 23, 2023
/CNW/ - Western Copper and Gold Corporation ("Western" or the
"Company") (TSX: WRN) (NYSE American: WRN) is pleased to announce its 2023 drilling program
(the "Program") at its wholly owned
Casino
Copper-Gold Project ("
Casino
").
The Program was developed by Western's Technical and Sustainability Committee, which is
comprised of members from Western, Rio Tinto and Mitsubishi Materials, as outlined in the Investor
Rights Agreements entered as part of investments by Rio Tinto Canada and Mitsubishi Materials into
Western (see news releases dated
May 17, 2021
and
March 24, 2023
respectively). The program
is outlined below:
Metallurgical and Infill Drilling
A diamond drill program consisting of approximately
2,200 m
of drilling in seven drill holes, ranging
from
130 m
to
560 m
in depth, has been initiated. These drill holes are located inside the current pit
boundaries and upon completion, this program is expected to result in upgrading of some of the
Indicated Resource to the Measured Resource category.
A metallurgical program, using drill core collected from this program, will commence upon completion
of drilling and receipt of assays. The program will focus on developing a more detailed
geometallurgical model of the deposit, with a focus on an updated recovery and concentrate model.
Geotechnical and Hydrogeological Drilling
The Program also includes roughly
800 m
of geotechnical and hydrogeological drilling designed by
Knight-Piesold Consulting. This will target the ground conditions of the proposed open pit, stockpiles,
tailings management facility, heap leaching facility, new airstrip, and the proposed Ranney well site.
"This is the first drill program developed by our new combined Technical and Sustainability
Committee," said
Paul West-Sells
, President and CEO. "We are excited to be working with Rio and
Mitsubishi, and look forward to working with them as this Program moves forward."
INFRASTRUCTURE AND GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
In August,
Yukon
Premier Pillai and the Federal Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry
Francois-Philippe Champagne
toured Western's
Casino
Copper-Gold Project while discussing
infrastructure development to support
Yukon's
economic growth. Premier Pillai stated, "We are
committed to responsible mining practices that will contribute positively to the territory's development
and long-term prosperity. We look forward to continued work with our federal partners to develop
the infrastructure necessary to unlock these opportunities." The full statement is available by
clicking this link
.
QUALIFIED PERSON
Technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by
Carl Schulze
, P.Geo,
and a 'Qualified Person' as defined under Canadian National Instrument 43-101.
ABOUT WESTERN COPPER AND GOLD CORPORATION
Western Copper and Gold Corporation is developing the
Casino
Project,
Canada's
premier copper-
gold mine in the
Yukon Territory
and one of the most economic greenfield copper-gold mining
projects in the world.
The Company is committed to working collaboratively with our First Nations and local communities to
progress the
Casino
project, using internationally recognized responsible mining technologies and
practices.
For more information, visit
www.westerncopperandgold.com
.
On behalf of the board,
"Paul West-Sells"
Dr.
Paul West-Sells
President and CEO
Western Copper and Gold Corporation
Cautionary Disclaimer Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Information
This news release contains certain forward-looking statements concerning anticipated
developments in Western's operations in future periods. Statements that are not historical fact are
"forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in
the United States
Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" as that term is defined in National
Instrument 51-102 ("NI 51-102") of the Canadian Securities Administrators (collectively, "forward-
looking statements"). Certain forward-looking information should also be considered future-
oriented financial information ("FOFI") as that term is defined in NI 51-102. The purpose of
disclosing FOFI is to provide a general overview of management's expectations regarding the
anticipated results of operations and capital expenditures and readers are cautioned that FOFI may
not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always,
identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "potential",
"possible" and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions or results "will", "may",
"could" or "should" occur or be achieved. These forward-looking statements may include, but are
not limited to, statements regarding: mineral resource and reserve estimation; mine plan and
operations; internal rate of return; sensitivities; net present value; potential recoveries; design
parameters; economic potential; processing mineralized material; the potential of robust
economics at
Casino
; advancing the Project through additional engineering and towards the next
step in permitting and submission of an environmental and socio-economic effects statement; key
changes to the TMF design; increases to the gold recovery in the heap leach; potential economic
returns from the Project; estimated initial capital investment costs; estimated operating costs;
estimated mining costs; development of the airstrip and all weather access road; anticipated
concentrate handling service charges; developing and operating the Project in a safe, ethical and
socially-responsible manner; plans for further development and securing the required permits and
licenses for further studies to consider operation; market price of precious and base metals; or
other statements that are not statement of fact. The material factors or assumptions used to
develop forward-looking statements include prevailing and projected market prices and foreign
exchange rates, exploration estimates and results, continued availability of capital and financing,
construction and operations, the Company not experiencing unforeseen delays, unexpected
geological or other effects, equipment failures, permitting delays, and general economic, market or
business conditions and as more specifically disclosed throughout this document, and in the AIF
and Form 40-F.
Forward-looking statements are statements about the future and are inherently uncertain, and
actual results, performance or achievements of Western and its subsidiaries may differ materially
from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking
statements due to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors. Such risks and other factors
include, among others, risks involved in fluctuations in gold, copper and other commodity prices
and currency exchange rates; uncertainties relating to interpretation of drill results and the geology,
continuity and grade of mineral deposits; uncertainty of estimates of capital and operating costs,
recovery rates, production estimates and estimated economic return; risks related to joint venture
operations; risks related to cooperation of government agencies and First Nations in the
development of the property and the issuance of required permits; risks related to the need to
obtain additional financing to develop the property and uncertainty as to the availability and terms
of future financing; the possibility of delay in construction projects and uncertainty of meeting
anticipated program milestones; uncertainty as to timely availability of permits and other
governmental approvals; and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in Western's AIF and Form
40-F, and other information released by Western and filed with the applicable regulatory agencies.
Western's forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, expectations and opinions of
management on the date the statements are made, and Western does not assume, and expressly
disclaims, any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether
as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by
applicable securities legislation. For the reasons set forth above, investors should not place undue
reliance on forward-looking statements.
SOURCE
Western Copper and Gold Corporation
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For further information:
Sandy Noyes, Director, Investor Relations, 604.638.2520 or
CO: Western Copper and Gold Corporation
CNW 06:00e 23-AUG-23