The last major permit required for the Wolverine mine has been secured, the Yukon Zinc Corp. announced today.

On Wednesday, Premier Dennis Fentie signed the 20-year, type A water licence issued by the Yukon Territory Water Board.

'There will be some smaller permits along the way but certainly this is the final stage of permitting,' Shae Dalphond, the company's manager of investor relations, said from Vancouver this morning.

'It will allow us to build the tailings facility and use and treat water during construction and mining.'

The water licence includes Yukon Zinc's plan for both temporary closure of the site, if it's ever required, and permanent closure, Dalphond said.

The company is still attempting to secure $110 million to finance the project, in addition to the conditional commitment of $140 million in August by Barclays Bank, and leading international financier of mining projects.

Barclays' commitment is contingent on Yukon Zinc raising the additional $110 million and securing the type A water licence.

Dalphond said having the water licence for the zinc-silver property bodes well for attracting the additional financing because it removes an element that can cause uncertainty among potential investors.

The company received its mining licence last December. It has completed the first phase of its 24-kilometre, all-weather road to the site off the Robert Campbell Highway, some 237 kilometres north of Watson Lake.

Transport trucks with full loads are now able to use the road.

Yukon Zinc also announced last month it has secured purchase contracts for its concentrate.

The company is planning to truck the concentrate south along the Robert Campbell and down the Stewart-Cassiar Highway to the B.C. port of Stewart for shipment overseas.

While the water licence is good for 20 years, the mine life is currently estimated at 8 1/2 years, with expectations of an additional couple of years, Dalphond said.

Pamela Ladyman, Yukon Zinc's vice-president of environment and community affairs, said the licence requires the site be returned to a state where it can be left alone, with no need for ongoing monitoring.

It's expected there'll be no need to treat the tailings pond three years after initial closure, she explained. She said there will also be monitoring of the water quality coming from the underground mine for a number of years, as yet undetermined.

The Yukon government was clear, however, that at some point the site must be reclaimed to as close as possible to the natural environment as possible, and free of any further need for monitoring, she said.

Ladyman said the incentive to achieve full closure as quickly as possible lies in the security the company must post; the sooner the job is done, the sooner the security is returned.