Alexco Resource Corp. is close to making a decision on whether to go back into production with its Keno Hill silver project, says the company president.

Brad Thrall told the 47th Yukon Geoscience Forum last Sunday they are waiting for a new water licence that would allow the company to mine and mill ore from two new deposits.

The company expects to have the new authorization in the first three months of 2020, Thrall told the audience.

He said if the decision is to go back into production, Alexco has put itself in a position in recent years to recommence production quite quickly with capital expenditures of $18 million and $5.3 million in working capital.

Mining and milling of ore from the Bellekeno deposit could be occurring by the middle of next year while Alexco finalizes preparations for production of the Flame and Moth deposit and the new Birmingham deposit, he explained.

Alexco was in production with ore from the Bellekeno deposit from 2010 to 2013, when the company ceased milling and mining.

Thrall said exploration has been the backbone of Alexco’s effort over the last six years, resulting in a substantial expansion of the known silver reserves and resources.

The discovery of the high grade Birmingham deposit was a sweetener, he told the audience.

He said if the decision is to recommence, the company would begin upgrading the mill at Keno City early next year, with production beginning sometime in the second quarter.

The company would use the readily available ore from the Bellekeno deposit to get the mill up and running before beginning to process ore from the two new deposits, he said.

Thrall told the audience the portal to the Flame and Moth deposit is just 150 metres away from the mill.

Since the discovery of the Birmingham deposit in recent years, the company has been preparing it for mining, he said, adding they’ve already established the underground entry.

They’re about 80 metres from the face of the ore, which could be removed in a couple months, he suggested.

Thrall said the silver concentrate Alexco would produce is of such a high grade that smelters and silver buyers around the world want it.

The life of the mine with the two new deposits is currently estimated at eight years, though there is an expectation further exploration will expand the mine life, he said.

Thrall also pointed out Alexco and its subsidiary, Elsa Reclamation and Development, expect they’ll be through the environmental review of their reclamation proposal for the Keno Hill silver district by the end of the year.

The proposal is directed at reclaiming 100 years of mining activity in the district.