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REGIONAL NEWS - U.S. & CANADA waste rock; however, additional infill drilling has the potential to upgrade these resources to reserves. Additional exploration of the Schaft Creek deposit to the east and north and of the project's recently discovered Discovery zone also have the potential to extend the life of the mine. The Schaft Creek feasibility study provides for expansion of the project based on the current mineral resource and the exploration potential of the Schaft Creek mineral trend. The potential to significantly expand the tailings storage facility, the current concentrate storage and shipping agreement with Stewart Bulk Terminals, and, most importantly, access to electrical power are positive features that support possible future expansion of the Schaft Creek project. Molycorp's New Rare Earth Complex is Operational Molycorp announced on January 10, 2013, that all key production components of its new state-of-the-art Project Phoenix rare earth manufacturing complex in Mountain Pass, California, are up and operational and the facility has begun ramping up to its full-scale Phase 1 run rate. The company expects that with an orderly ramp up of production it will reach or exceed its Phase 1 run rate of 19,050 mt/y of rare earth oxide equivalent by mid-year. The Mountain Pass complex is designed to allow for expanded production to a Phase 2 rate of as much as 40,000 mt/y of rare earth oxide equivalent. However, the company stated that, while most of the equipment necessary to complete Phase 2 is already on site, the decision to complete Phase 2 construction and start-up will not be made until market demand, product pricing, capital availability and financial returns justify additional increases in production beyond Phase 1. Molycorp officials said that controlling capital and operating costs continues to be a top priority. With the combination of the new Phase 1 ramp-up schedule and current rare earth pricing environment, the company anticipates lower than expected revenue and cash flow for 2013 and is evaluating its capital needs for the year. Feasibility Study Supports Casino Project Development Western Copper and Gold Corp. has released the results of a definitive feasibility study of its wholly-owned Casino copper-gold-molybdenum project in the Yukon, Canada. The study recommends that the project be constructed as an openpit mine, with a concentrator processing 120,000 mt/d and a gold heap leach facility processing 25,000 mt/d. Production during the first four years would average 399,000 oz/y of gold, 245 million lb/y of copper, 15 million lb/y of molybdenum, and 1.8 million oz/y of silver. The Casino project is located 380 km northwest of Whitehorse, Yukon, and 560 km from the year-round port at Skagway, Alaska. Total initial capital investment to develop the project is estimated to be C$2.46 billion, including costs for associated infrastructure and a power plant. The feasibility study evaluates development of the Casino project as a convention- Aerial view of Molycorp's rare earth processing facilities near Mountain Pass, California during construction. (Photo courtesy Molycorp) 10 E&MJ; • FEBRUARY 2013 al open-pit mine/concentrator complex and heap leach operation. Initial production will focus on developing the deposit's oxide cap as a heap leach operation to recover gold and silver doré. The main sulphide deposit will be processed using a conventional concentrator to produce copper-gold-silver and molybdenum concentrates. The study estimates an NI 43-101 compliant proven and probable mill ore reserve of 965 million mt and a proven and probable heap leach ore reserve of 157 million mt. Total contained metal in the combined proven and probable mineral reserves is estimated at 4.5 billion lb of copper, 8.9 million oz of gold, 483 million lb of molybdenum, and 65 million oz of silver. The effective date of the mineral reserve estimate is January 7, 2013. Electrical power for the Casino project will be provided by an on-site, gas-fired power plant based on liquefied natural gas (LNG) sourced from a new facility to be constructed by a third party near gas processing facilities currently in operation at Fort Nelson, British Columbia. LNG will be hauled by over-the-highway tankers to an on-site LNG storage facility, then vaporized and fed to the power plant to generate electrical power. The LNG infrastructure required for the power plant will also provide LNG fuel for the mine haulage fleet, including over-thehighway tractors hauling concentrates, lime, grinding media and LNG. The technology that will enable LNG to fuel mine haul trucks of the class required for Casino is still in development, but Western Copper and Gold states that haul truck suppliers are targeting 2017 to make this technology commercially available, which is well before the date required for Casino. "The use of LNG for mine haulage and power generation represents a significant reduction in greenhouse gases as compared to other alternative fuels. The use of LNG also has a significant impact in lowering the unit cost for mine haulage," the Western Copper and Gold announcement said. Western Copper and Gold expects to submit the initial applications in the Casino project permitting process by the end of 2013, with permitting expected to take about two years. Subject to securing the necessary permits and project funding on acceptable terms, the company anticipates that construction will begin in early 2016, with production from the heap leach expected in 2017 and from the concentrator in 2019. www.e-mj.com