Goldcorp has submitted its project proposal for developing its Coffee gold property to the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board.

The proposal – thousands of pages – was delivered Friday.

Goldcorp is on the record as saying it wants to see initial production of gold from its open pit operation by the end of 2020, provided it’s able to secure the necessary permits in time.

The project proposal includes improvements to the existing 214-kilometre road heading south from Dawson City into the placer gold fields.

It also involves building sections of new road to reach its staging area on the east side of the Yukon River, where goods will be transported across the river by barge in the summer and ice bridge in the winter. An existing access road connects the property to the barge landing.

Buddy Crill, Goldcorp’s general mine manager for the Coffee project, was out of town and unavailable to comment this morning.

In previous interviews with the Star, he has indicated Goldcorp is committed to building the mine.

Crill has also said that more than anything, Goldcorp’s interest in the Coffee Project was to get a foothold in the general area where it believes there is promising potential for future mine developments.

Getting a foothold in the Yukon also provides the company with the ability to demonstrate solid corporate citizenship and a commitment to community involvement, he has said.

Crill explained previously it’s the company’s hope that it is far enough along in the permitting process to separate the road construction from the main project proposal so it can begin the road work next year.

Goldcorp’s submission is the second major mine proposal submitted in less than a month.

It comes on the heels of a BMC Minerals’ proposal to build a combination open pit and underground mine at its Kudz Ze Kayah property east of Ross River.

BMC’s project proposal is approximately 8,000 pages. The company estimates it has spent $25 million advancing the Kudz Ze Kayah project since it purchased the property in 2015.

Goldcorp purchased the Coffee project from the Kaminak Gold Corp. for $520 million last summer.

It estimates the cost of construction at approximately $400 million US. It plans to retrieve the gold using a common cyanide heap leach process.

The mine life is estimated at 12 years followed by a closure period of approximately 10 years.

Goldcorp’s general project description estimates employment created during construction at 400 jobs.

A full-time work force during operations is estimated at 320 jobs, with employees working two weeks in and two weeks out.

Employees would be flown in and out from either Whitehorse or Dawson, says the project description.

Communication officer Rob Yeomans of the assessment board said this morning staff are going through the project proposal to determine if it’s complete.

Once it determines it’s complete, it will begin the adequacy review to determine if it has all the information required to conduct a full assessment, he explained.

Both Goldcorp’s Coffee Project and BMC’s Kudz Ze Kayah Project are being screened at the executive committee level.

Goldcorp, a Canadian company, is said to be the fourth-largest gold producer in the world.

BMC Minerals is a private company wholly owned by BMC U.K.