Selkirk Copper Mines Inc. (TSX-V:SCMI | FRA:IO20 | OTCQX:SKRKF) (“Selkirk Copper” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce positive economic results of a Preliminary Economic Assessment (the “PEA” or the “Study”) for its copper-gold-silver Minto Project (the “Project”) located in Yukon, Canada. The PEA provides an in-depth technical and economic assessment of the restart of open pit and underground mining operations, crushing, grinding and flotation operations, and concentrate production activities and outlines a potential pathway to development of a longer-life operation with additional copper-gold-silver concentrate production dependent on further exploration success.
M. Colin Joudrie, President & CEO, commented: “Over the past 12 months the team has delivered exceptional results across all aspects of our restart plan from resource discovery, expansion and definition, resource modeling, integrated mine planning, project definition, engineering and design, capital and operating cost estimation, permitting, and Selkirk First Nation engagement. The positive economics described in the PEA create the platform for the Company to pursue a restart decision at the completion of a Feasibility Study and permit amendment receipt in H2-2027 with targeted first concentrate production by H2-2028. The level of detail developed in the PEA study, including integrated mine plans, equipment definition, and detailed capital, operating and sustaining cost estimations, has increased our confidence in our ability to deliver on our focused restart timeline.
We look forward to initiating Feasibility Study work and submission of our permit amendment application in late 2026 followed by another MRE Update expected in Q1 2027 which will include results from our Phase 2 50,000 m drill program which is nearing completion.
Our entire team recognizes the importance of timely completion of several scopes of work to achieve our restart plan however we are buoyed by the positive outcome of the Phase 1 and Phase 2 drill program, positive restart economics reflected in the PEA, and the opportunity to breathe new life into an asset that has much more to give.”
Preliminary Economic Assessment Overview
The Preliminary Economic Assessment was prepared by a team of independent industry experts, led by Hatch Ltd. (“Hatch”) and supported by SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc. (“SRK”), Fuse Advisors (Part of SLR) (“Fuse”), Moose Mountain Technical Services (“MMTS”), and Ensero Solutions (“Ensero”).
Scott Fulton, P.Eng., VP Engineering for the Company and a non-independent Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has supervised the preparation of this news release and approved the scientific and technical information herein. References to dollars represent Canadian Dollars ($) unless otherwise specified. Abbreviations for thousands (“k”) and millions (“M”) are used for brevity. The Company intends to file the complete PEA Technical Report on its website (www.selkirkcopper.com) and SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca) within 45 days of this press release.
Measured & Indicated Resources and Inferred Resources described in the 2026 Mineral Resource Estimate (effective date June 10, 2026) are 47.8 million tonnes at 0.89% copper, 0.34 g/t gold, and 3.2 g/t silver totaling 940 million pounds copper, 530,000 ounces gold, and 4.97 million ounces silver and 16.9 million tonnes at 0.76% copper, 0.26 g/t gold, and 2.7 g/t silver totalling 281 million pounds copper, 142,000 ounces gold, and 1.5 million ounces silver respectively. Applying the proposed development plan described in the PEA results in a mineable inventory of ~18.4 Mt being generated, from both open pit and underground sources, which results in a planned initial mine life of 13 years. The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied that would enable these resources to be categorized as Mineral Reserves. There is no certainty that the projections in the PEA will be realized. Mineral Resources which are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
The PEA has been designed to constrain surface and underground development work and above ground installations and infrastructure to that which can be located within the boundary of the existing Quartz Mining License (“QML”) over the entire planned initial 13 year mine life.
The Project is based on a 4,100 tpd mining and processing plant operating rate which includes extraction of mineralized material from two (2) primary underground mining areas, two (2) open pits, feeding blended mine material into a new crushing circuit, which then feeds into an existing semi-autogenous and ball mill grinding circuit. Copper-gold-silver bearing minerals are recovered through a new gravity circuit and an existing flotation circuit designed to produce a single copper-gold-silver concentrate product.
The PEA considers production of conventional slurry tailings initially placed into previously mined-out pits with a newly designed and engineered retaining dam to be constructed along a portion of the pit edge, then transitioning to a new dry-stack tailings process part way through the mine life. The new PEA dry-stack tailings storage is located at the western margin of the QML. The planned transition to dry-stack tailings is being pursued to reduce impact to the environment.
The initial capital costs (“Capex”) of the Project, including working capital requirements, owner’s costs, and contingency commensurate for the level of study, is estimated to be C$186 million. Sustaining capital costs (“Susex”) over the life of mine is estimated to be C$409 million, including a scoping-level estimate of closure and rehabilitation.
Operating costs (“Opex”) over the life of mine are estimated at C$1,764 million, encompassing mining, processing, tailings, water treatment, site general and administrative costs, and logistics required to support planned production throughout the operation’s life. Operating costs are estimated to average C$95.77 per tonne milled over the life of mine, with underground mining representing the largest component of unit costs.
Sustaining capital costs over the life of mine are estimated at C$409 million, encompassing underground mine development, mobile equipment replacement, infrastructure renewal, and other capital investments required to maintain the planned production profile and operational performance designed for in the PEA. Sustaining costs are inclusive of the scoping-level estimate of closure and rehabilitation costs expected to be incurred after production operations have ceased.
Scoping-level closure and rehabilitation plans, which follow the completion of mining and processing operations, include recontouring, covering, and revegetating necessary areas, deconstruction of structures, rehabilitation of disturbed surface areas, environmental closure, long-term stabilization activities, water and condition monitoring, and necessary logistics to execute these activities.
Net Smelter Return (“NSR”) estimates were developed and used for open pit optimizations, underground stope development, and classification of mineralized material to be fed to the process plant. NSR estimates used the same assumed metal prices (“Design Prices”) as those used to calculate the 2026 MRE, which are US$4.60/lb copper, US$3,300/oz gold, and US$40/oz silver. The NSR values represent the estimated recovered and payable metal value after deductions for treatment and refining charges, transportation and royalties. Prices, recoveries, payabilities and cost deductions were applied consistently across all material types included in the development of open pit and underground mine plans and mineral processing plans. Payabilities, charges, and deduction schedules follow industry‑typical concentrate contract structures for copper‑gold-silver concentrates. A 1.5% NSR royalty payable to the Selkirk First Nation was applied to all payable metals.
The PEA considers submission and elaboration of a permit amendment application to the Yukon Environmental Socio-economic Assessment Board (“YESAB”) as well as various other permit applications and amendments in support of exploration, development, and site-specific activities necessary to support planned construction activities and restart of mining, milling and concentrate producing operations.
The product of mining and mineral processing activities is a high-grade copper-gold-silver concentrate with a target average grade of 38.0% copper, 12-18 g/t gold, and 100-150 g/t silver with negligible deleterious elements, representing a premium-quality concentrate that compares favourably to the highest-quality copper concentrates produced in the world today. Peak copper-equivalent1 contained in concentrate over the planned initial life of mine is 27,200 tonnes per annum (“tpa”), resulting in 48,700 tpa of high-grade (38% Cu) copper concentrate. Metal contained in mill feed material over the planned initial life of mine is approximately 434 Mlbs of copper, 271 koz of gold, and 2.36 Moz of silver or 653 Mlbs copper-equivalent1. Payable metal contained in concentrate over the planned initial life of mine is approximately 377 Mlbs of copper, 225 koz of gold, and 1.39 Moz of silver, or 552 Mlbs copper-equivalent1.
The Project study work, underpinned by a successful 52,288 metre Phase 1 exploration, resource expansion, and resource definition drill program and updated MRE, has resulted in a 13 year mine life. The results from an ongoing Phase 2 50,000 m program, that is nearing completion, have not been incorporated into the PEA but will be incorporated into a Feasibility Study expected to start in Q4 2026.
Economic analysis for the PEA was completed using Planning Prices of US$5.00/lb copper, US$3,600/oz gold, and US$50/oz silver, whereas Design Prices which informed the MRE and mineable inventory estimates were US$4.60/lb copper, US$3,300/oz gold, and US$40/oz silver.
Economics for the Minto Project, applying Planning Prices and a 7% discount rate result in an after-tax NPV7% of C$494M and after-tax internal rate of return of 47.8%. Due to the relatively low initial capital cost of C$186M estimated to re-establish production, the after-tax payback period from first production is approximately 1.9 years.
At Spot Prices of US$6.50/lb copper, US$4,300/oz gold and US$65/oz silver, which represent a rounded average of the quarter-to-date daily cash metal prices quoted on the London Metal Exchange, the after-tax NPV7% increases to C$1,023M, the internal rate of return increases to 78.2%, and the after-tax payback period from first production reduces to 1.3 years.
At Upside Prices, which are reflective of potential future commodity prices as a results of a number of fundamental supply-demand factors in copper and increasing interest by global financial institutions and governments in gold and silver as financial instruments, of US$7.50/lb copper, US$5,400/oz gold and US$75/oz silver, the after-tax NPV7% further increases to C$1,385M, the internal rate of return increases to 96.3%, and the after-tax payback period from first production decreases to 1.0 years.
In descending order, the Minto Project restart economics are most sensitive to: i) copper price; ii) CAD:USD foreign exchange rate; iii) copper recovery; iv) gold price; and v) operating costs. In addition, project returns are sensitive to mine construction execution timelines and overall investment returns are sensitive to permitting timelines.
Reflective of the style and character of the mineralization and the mineralized lenses that comprise the Minto Project, economics of the restart are highly leveraged to copper and gold prices.
Table 1: Minto Project PEA Summary at Planning Prices
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