More than 40 people gathered Wednesday evening at the Sternwheeler Hotel and Conference Centre to learn more about the proposed Casino Project and its path to permitting.

Casino Mining Corp. is advancing its proposed massive Casino Project: a copper, gold, molybdenum and silver deposit located approximately 300 kilometres northwest of Whitehorse.

Shena Shaw, the company’s vice-president of environmental and community affairs, presented an update and heard from several residents and business owners.

“Yukoners have an active role to play in how the Casino Project advances, and we greatly value community input,” said Shaw.

“A key aspect of our engagement efforts includes events like these to allow Yukoners to voice their questions and raise potential concerns towards a shared vision and a two-way communication of knowledge.”

Feedback from Wednesday’s event and future engagement events is helping to inform the team’s development of Casino’s Environmental and Socio-economic Effects Statement for the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board (YESAB) Panel Review, the company said.

A YESAB Panel Review is the highest level of assessment in the territory.

Earlier this week, Western Copper and Gold Corp., Casino’s parent company, announced a $40-million financing through the issuance of 21,0555,000 common shares at a price of $1.90 per share.

The net proceeds from this sale are anticipated to advance Casino’s permitting and engineering activities.

New Casino CEO Sandeep Singh recently spent several days in the Yukon working with the Casino team and meeting with numerous governments and community organizations.“I’m excited to have joined the Casino team at such a pivotal time for the project,” said Singh, who joined the company in February.

“I look forward to connecting with Yukoners in the coming weeks and months as we continue to expand the expertise of our management team and move the proposed Casino Project forward.”

Casino is planning to host similar open houses for other communities and will continue to engage with affected Yukon First Nations, regulatory agencies and a wide range of interested parties.

The company encourages all Yukoners to participate in the Casino Panel Review once it commences at https://yesab.ca/casino-panel-review-23

“The Casino Project can significantly and responsibly contribute to the global demand for critical minerals and Canada’s transition to a greener economy,” the company said.

“Having currently re-entered the Yukon’s environmental assessment process, Casino is seeking permission to construct, operate, close and reclaim the proposed mine using today’s environmental, social and governance best practices.”