The Yukon Zinc Corp. will attempt to restructure its Wolverine Mine operation, with the support of its Chinese parent company.

The company confirmed last Friday with the B.C. Supreme Court that it intends to pursue restructuring.

A confirmation letter from the law firm representing Yukon Zinc was sent to PricewaterhouseCoopers, the court-appointed monitor, in keeping with the July 31 deadline imposed by the court.

Under the court order, the company must now apply to the court no later than Aug. 14 to “seek authorization to distribute the proposed plan of arrangement to creditors and to convene a meeting of creditors to consider and vote on the proposed plan of arrangement in the event the company seeks to carry out its own restructuring.”

The July 31 letter from the law firm to PricewaterhouseCoopers says: “We are pleased to advise that Yukon Zinc intends to file with the court a plan of arrangement with its creditors, and that Jinduicheng Canada Resources Corporation Limited will support such plan of arrangement.

“We look forward to working with you to develop a plan of arrangement acceptable to Yukon Zinc’s stakeholders and the court.”

PricewaterhouseCoopers has also been pursuing attempts to attract other buyers for all or part of the Wolverine Mine assets.

It has provided the court with sealed offers it has received.

PricewaterhouseCoopers has indicated to the court there has been solid interest in purchasing the assets expressed by other reputable firms.

An Australian company went public recently with its desire to buy the Wolverine Mine so it could use the mill and other infrastructure at the site to mine a known deposit 28 kilometres southwest of the Wolverine property.

MinQuest, a publicly traded company located in Brisbane, indicated to PricewaterhouseCoopers it plans on presenting a formal offer no later than Aug. 10.

An updated list of claims against Yukon Zinc by more than 310 creditors indicate the company owes $654 million, of which $603 million is owed to Jinduicheng Canada, the parent company.

More than 40 Yukon companies are owed approximately $4.2 million, ranging from a high of $2.2 million for fuel to a low of $273 for building supplies.

The Wolverine Mine suspended operations last January because of financial problems. It sought and received court protection from creditors last March.

The initial court protection has been extended a couple of times. Aug. 14 is the end of the most recent extension.

During a Star interview with the Australian company last week, the managing director said he could not disclose at that time whether the pending offer from MinQuest would be enough to satisfy the outstanding debt dollar-for-dollar, or whether it would be something less.

Documents presented to the court indicate the Wolverine Mine lost more than $50 million in each of the three years it was in commercial production.