The Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board is recommending approval of the next phase of development at the Minto Mine.

The assessment board issued the recommendation Friday.

The Yukon government has 30 days from Friday to accept, reject or alter the recommendation.

Minto general manager Ron Light said this morning once Capstone Mining has the decision document, it will need to secure amendments to its Quartz Mining Licence and its water licence.

It needs to have the permits by August to avoid further layoffs by Pelly Construction, the Whitehorse company contracted to carry out the open pit mining, he said.

Light said he doesn't anticipate any problems securing the amendment to the mining licence in time, though he suspects it may take longer to go through the process of amending the water licence, which will include a public hearing.

"Looking at an aggressive time line by the water board, we would hope we would get it in August but November is probably more likely,” said Light.

He said whenever the company secures the permits, it will immediately begin stripping the new Minto North open pit, which will require Pelly Construction to increase staffing to the level the company was at before it laid off 44 employees in January.

Pelly was forced to lay off the employees, representing 40 per cent of its workforce at the mine site, when Capstone cut its open pit mining in half while maintaining full production through the mill with ore that had been stockpiled.

Capstone, Light emphasized, wants to avoid further layoffs of Pelly staff because shutting down and then firing back up a couple of months later comes with its own issues, such as finding replacements for employees who may have moved on.

Capstone's application reviewed by the assessment board includes the mining of three new open pits and the expansion of an existing pit. It also includes the expansion of the underground mining program.

The recommendation by the assessment board contains 40-plus specific terms and conditions.

Everything from ongoing water monitoring to management of waste rock is addressed.

There's a requirement to make sure equipment brought into the mine site is cleaned of any dirt or other material that might allow for the transport of invasive plant species.

The 161-page recommendation also addresses the regular requirements to protect wildlife and its habitat, including a condition not to do any stripping prior to July 31 in order to avoid the breeding season for birds.

The document notes the end of surface or open pit mining at the Minto Mine is scheduled for mid-2017.

Underground mining is currently scheduled to wrap up in 2019, with the mill continuing to operate until mid-2022.

Closure and reclamation of the site are scheduled to be complete by the end of 2023, says the document.

Capstone Mining vice-president Cindy Burnett said this morning there are no more surface or open pit targets beyond what's been identified in the current application before the assessment board.

There are, however, a couple of underground targets remaining but diamond drilling to explore those areas won't occur until the existing underground work is expanded, she said.

Burnett said the new Minto North pit is a high-grade copper deposit which Capstone will pursue with a vengeance once it has the green light.

Also included in the assessment board's recommendation is a condition that Capstone ensure the amount of financial security required for reclamation and ongoing monitoring after closure keeps pace with the mine expansion outlined in the application.

Yukon government records show the company currently has $24 million posted in security: $4.5 million required under the Water Act and another $19.5 under the Quartz Mining Act.