Whether the project to re-process tailings at the former Whitehorse Copper mine will be rolling next summer is in question, says the president of the company pursuing the project.

Chuck Eaton of Eagle Industrial Minerals said in an interview this week he's not sure if the proposal to reclaim iron-ore from 15 years of tailings can clear the regulatory process in time to for startup next year, as was the original intent.

Eagle Industrial is still providing the Yukon Environmental Socio-economic Assessment Board (YESAB) with details of the project.

The environmental screening agency has not yet deemed there's enough information to send the application through a public review, Eaton pointed out.

He said once his California company is through the YESAB process, it still needs to go through a full review by the Yukon Water Board.

"But we are still going forward,” he said.

Eaton said he's hoping the volume of the material being submitted to the YESAB will go a long way in satisfying the information needs of the water board when it considers the application for a water licence.

Eagle Industrial filed its application with the YESAB last March.

The board has since requested additional information, the latest request going out last month for more details about water management.

"We would like to see a robust water quality model predicting water quality during all the stages of the project activities,” reads the July 18 letter from the YESAB to Eagle Industrial.

"We also understand that this will likely be required by regulators (the water board). Delaying implementation of this requirement may ultimately lead to longer timelines prior to the project proceeding, particularly if opportunities to acquire additional field data are missed.

"We recommend discussions be held with the regulator relating to their requirements regarding water quality.”

Eagle Industrial has until January 2012 to provide the additional information under the routine schedule, without requesting a special extension.

The YESAB file is being managed by the assessment board's designated district office in Whitehorse.

The Whitehorse office can recommend the Yukon government approve or reject the application.

It can also indicate it's not able to make a decision, and thereby refer the file to the YESAB's executive committee for a more detailed review at the central level.

The government can accept, reject or alter recommendations from the assessment board.

Eaton and his company are planning to re-process some 9.7 million tonnes of tailings left behind by Whitehorse Copper after 15 years of production, from 1967 to 1982.

The proposal also includes reclamation of the 69-hectare site. The company has indicated what will be left after six or seven years of seasonal operation is a cleaner, safer industrial site which could be subdivided into a new industrial park.

The company maintains the commodity price for magnetite – iron ore – has reached the level where reclamation of the tailings is financially viable.

The tailings contain approximately 20 per cent magnetite.

Eaton held a public meeting last October at the Mount Sima ski chalet to explain the project. The mine site is just down the road from Mount Sima.

At the height of operations, Eaton expects there would be 20 to 25 employees working full-time for the six or seven months of production during the snow-free months.

It's estimated 30 trucks a day would head down to the ore terminal in Skagway.

Eaton maintains that raising the $6 million or $7 million to get into production is not an issue for his private company.

While the use and management of water is the main concern among the many parties who've reviewed the information supplied by Eagle Industrial to support its application, several more issues have been raised by the parties.

They include questions around the company's commitment to reclaim the site and its financial capability to do so.

There's a concern whether Eagle Industrial will be allowed to work 24/7, given the city noise bylaw restricting the use of heavy equipment between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. without special permission.

What impact increased truck traffic would have on the Southern Lakes caribou herd has also been raised as a concern.

There is a question about the true benefit of such a project and more jobs at a time when there's already a housing shortage.

A recommendation has also been made calling on the company to provide fully engineered plans for the demolition of two dams holding back tailings in what are referred to as the A and B valleys on the site.

Also under some debate is whether the company should be applying for a type A water licence, which carries the highest standards for compliance, instead of the type B licence it has applied for.