The first concentrate to be produced in a Yukon hard rock mine in the last five years rolled through Whitehorse Monday night.

Minto Explorations Ltd., which is wholly-owned by Sherwood Copper Corp., saw its first amount of copper-gold concentrate be transported off-site from the Minto open pit mine.

Two truckloads, transported by Canadian Lynden Transport, stopped at the weigh scales along the Alaska Highway just after 8 p.m.

Stephen Quin, Sherwood Copper's president and CEO, and Energy, Mines and Resources Minister Archie Lang were present for the arrival of the first concentrate.

'To have the first concentrate shipped after this process began only a couple years ago, it's a pretty huge step for us,' Quin said.

He even flew up his family from Vancouver to be present for the momentous occasion.

'Now I finally get to show them what I've been doing for two years' time,' Quin said. 'They'll get to see why I've been away and why there's been so many late nights.'

Lang echoed Quin's sentiments.

'This is a very big move forward for the Yukon, since this is the first shipment in quite a few years,' Lang said.

He added there are four or five mines moving forward into production in the near future, including mine sites at Wolverine, Keno Hill, Howard's Pass, and Mac Pass.

The Minto site is the first in a wave of new mining potential.

'Things are looking very positive,' Lang said.

When test production began at the Minto mine in late May, it became the first hard rock mine to be in production since 2002, when the Brewery Creek gold mine shut down.

Sherwood Copper announced on May 31 that the first amount of copper-gold concentrate had been produced.

The feasibility study originally said the first concentrate would be ready for shipment in September.

Quin is pleased they are ahead of schedule, and said they are very close to being on budget as well, although they will have to wait a bit longer before they can determine exact figures.

'Two years ago, we had no money and no people,' Quin said. 'We took a huge step very quickly, and that's thanks in large part to the co-operative work with the government.'

Quin added they will start to see returns pretty quickly and will begin paying royalty cheques by the end of the year, which will flow back to the Yukon government in 2008.

He also mentioned the benefits for the Selkirk First Nation, including royalties from that deposit which will go toward them, training programs, opportunities for contracting, and employment.

Sherwood Copper will employ about 66 employees to run the Minto mine under normal operation. Another 30 contract employees will be working on stripping and exploration.

Both milling and mining the open pit will run 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Not all 96 will be on-site at once, with a part of the crew out on days off at any given time.

Another issue of concern is the impact the mine will have on the environment.

'The environment has the respect of management, and we're all very concerned about the way mines have been left over the last 75 years,' Lang said.

'But this is 2007, and we're all very aware of the environment, and we're working with the industry to make sure it's a gradual reclamation process.'

He added there are regulations and environmental standards which are enforced, and another part of the process is making sure there are resources in place to cover closure costs.

The feasibility study originally predicted a seven-year mine life, but Quin said there is potential for that to be expanded three or four years with the discovery of a new deposit just south of the main deposit.

With an exploration budget of $3.5 million for this year and the start of a drill program, he hopes they can find more deposits, which would result in a series of extensions and increased production stages.

'We hope to be there for a long, long time,' he said.

The initial target for production, as predicted by the mining plan, was a full 1,650 tonnes per day by the end of September, although they are well ahead of schedule.

With phase two of the planned mill expansion at the Minto mine already underway, they anticipate production to increase to 2,400 tonnes per day.

The trucks headed for Skagway today, where the concentrate will be stockpiled at a new storage facility until the first overseas shipment in September.

With the addition of another trailer in the near future, Sherwood Copper will soon be moving three truckloads at a time until September.