BMC Minerals announced this week the assessment board has begun preparing its final screening report for the proposed Kudz Ze Kayah mine development southeast of Ross River.

The Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board issued a draft screening report last November which recommended the project be permitted to proceed, subject to several conditions and environmental monitoring requirements.

Interested parties and the general public had until June to review and comment on the draft screening report.

BMC notes in the announcement that it received requests from the board for additional information as a result of the public review.

The executive committee of the assessment board wrote BMC last week to let the company know it now has the information it needs to complete the assessment and make a final recommendation.

Under the rules guiding the assessment board, the board has 60 days to finalize the screening report, with the ability to extend the timeline by 30 days.

The Kudz Ze Kayah project involves mining for copper, lead, zinc, gold and silver.

Approximately 90 per cent of the mining will be open pit, with a small portion of underground mining.

A feasibility study released by BMC last summer confirmed the project is economically viable.

The mine life is estimated at eight to nine years, though the study indicates positive potential to extend the mine life by continued exploration.

BMC Minerals is a private company as a subsidiary of BMC (UK) Ltd.

The company has been advancing the project proposal since it purchased the property in 2015.

Company president Scott Donaldson is out of the country and unavailable for comment.

But in an interview last year following the release of the feasibility study, Donaldson explained they were hoping to have a Quartz Mining Licence toward the end of this year, followed by a water licence next year.

Once the company has the required permits, the board of directors will make a final decision on whether to proceed, he explained, adding companies typically wait until they have their permits before making a final decision.

If the Yukon government and other decision bodies approve the project proposal after receiving the final recommendation from the assessment board, BMC would be in a position to secure its Quartz Mining Licence.

This week’s announcement says if the board of directors decides to proceed, there would be two years of construction before the mine is operational. “BMC will continue to work closely with local communities and other Yukoners to develop a modern, financially viable and environmentally responsible project at Kuz Ze Kayah that leaves a positive long-term legacy for all parties,” says the announcement.