Goldcorp intends to have its proposal for the Coffee gold project into the screening agency no later than March 31, says mine manager Buddy Crill.

In a brief interview before last Thursday’s public meeting hosted by Crill and other company representatives in Whitehorse, he said the direction to have the package submitted by the end of the next month comes down from the very top.

Crill said the company has a commitment to the market to be producing first gold by the end of 2020.

First gold, he explained, happens when the mine is fired up and bugs are being worked out. Commercial production is declared when everything is up and running and working as it should, and Goldcorp is targetting the first three months of 2021 for commercial production, he said.

“A lot has to happen,” he said of the critical path that lies ahead.

“The permitting process has to go relatively well to make that happen, and that is the one thing we do not have any control over.”

Crill explained the intent is to submit one overall package to the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board, for both the open pit mine operation and the required road upgrades and new road construction.

Once the board has completed its screening, Goldcorp plans to separate the road project from the mine project for the purposes of licensing, as licensing the road alone will move quicker, he said.

Crill said the schedule calls for beginning the road work next year, with construction of the mine beginning in 2019.

The mine site is located south of Dawson City, on the west side of the Yukon River.

Access will be along the existing road that services the placer gold mining industry, with a need to make improvements to existing sections and construct new roads in a couple of other areas.

The company is planning to use barges in the summer to cross the Yukon River and an ice road in the winter.

Crill emphasized Goldcorp is committed to bring the Coffee project into production.

“For us, the advantage is we do not have to go out and raise financing,” he told the Star. “The schedule is tight, and it’s all going to hang on the permitting.

“If we had the permits, we would start construction immediately.”

Crill said this year’s budget for the project is $30 million, with $8 million for continuing exploration on the property and the rest going to permitting.

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

It paid $520 million to Kaminak Gold Corp. shareholders to purchase the property last summer. The company estimates it will require another $400 million to bring the property into production.

Crill has been candid in the past when he’s said with more than $900 million invested to get the Coffee project into production, it’s not likely to be a big money-maker.

Goldcorp, he said, believes there’s much more to the entire land package it purchased than the four open-pit targets Kaminak identified.

He said Goldcorp wanted to use the Coffee project to move into the Yukon, where it intends to establish itself as a company committed to the community and doing things right.

The 40-plus people who were in attendance for Thursday’s update by the company heard of that commitment to the community and the environment.

The audience of truck drivers, engineers, home builders, civil servants, heavy equipment contractors and politicians was told that ensuring water quality is not affected by the project is at the top of the list.

Senior company representatives said a process has already been established to support community initiatives, and proposals are being accepted.

In 2016, it was pointed out, the company provided support for the Yukon Quest, the Moosehide Gathering, Yukon Native Hockey Tournament, the Adaka Festival., and Goldcorp is accepting proposals.

The audience heard how Goldcorp is examining what impacts the project will have socially, and whether it will have a positive or negative impact on existing health care infrastructure such as the Dawson City Hospital.

There were questions about the safety protocols related to transporting and handling the cyanide acid that will be used to leach the gold from heaps of crushed ore.

Company officials were asked whether they had considered the use of the local construction industry to build modular camp units rather than purchasing their camp from Outside.

Crill, who moved his family to Whitehorse last year, said he is thoroughly impressed by the quality of construction of the home they purchased.

Goldcorp is committed to buying locally and hiring locally but it also has to shop for the best price, he said. He added that if anybody believes they can offer a competitive product for a camp facility, they’re encouraged to get in touch with the company.

In fact, all businesses and individuals who believe they have something to offer are encouraged to get in touch with Goldcorp as the company is currently developing an inventory of goods and service available locally, the audience was told.

Crill said Goldcorp does have a policy to provide for local preference in hiring and purchasing and they’ll provide incentives for contractors to hire locally as well.

“We will give local businesses preferential treatment.”

That said, the company does recognize it will be a challenge to come up with 400 workers to build the mine and another 320 to operate it during its estimated 12 years of mine life, he said.

Crill said the company is working with Yukon College and its Centre for Northern Innovation in Mining.

The mine manager also explained that because the process involves cyanide heap leaching, there will be no need for a tailings pond or a tailings dam.

A heap leaching process is about as simple as it gets, Crill told the audience.

He said Goldcorp is currently looking at diesel generation to provide the power but is also looking at liquefied natural gas.

The company would actually like to see more of energy come from LNG because it produces less greenhouse gas and its less susceptible to price volatility, he said.

Crill said they are also looking at solar because it may be able to fulfill an energy requirement specific to the summer.

“We are monitoring solar at the site right now.”

The Brewery Creek gold mine south of Dawson City used a cyanide heap leach process in its five years of operation from 1997 to 2001. The mine won awards for its reclamation work.