Yukon Zinc’s Wolverine Mine has achieved its full design capacity of 1,700 tonnes of zinc, copper and lead per day.
CEO Jing You Lu called the achievement a “major milestone” in a press release.
“As an emerging mining company, Wolverine is the cornerstone of our success and we will look to maintain consistent production output to support the growth of Yukon Zinc,” said Lu in an email. “We appreciate the efforts and commitment from everyone who has helped us achieve this milestone.”
The mine has operated at above the design capacity for the past few months, and expects to continue to produce at the rate of 1,700 tonnes per day.
“The main factor is keeping a consistent underground production rate and the mine teams are working hard to bring ore to surface from existing levels and they will continue to safely develop all the remaining levels in the mine to ensure production is maintained,” said Floyd Varley, the mine’s general manager, in an email. “The second factor is in the mill, and the team there has successfully been able to increase metal grades, recoveries and concentrate quality.”
The company would not say how much it expects to pay in royalties to the Yukon government this year, indicating that the amount will be based on total profits earned at the mine.