Selkirk Copper Expands Minto Resource Ahead of Mid-2026 Economic Study

• Selkirk Copper Mines released an updated Minto mineral resource estimate (MRE) on July 30, 2026, with an effective date of June 10, 2026. 
• Measured and indicated (M&I) resources reached 47.8 million tonnes containing 940 million pounds of copper, 530,000 ounces of gold, and 4.97 million ounces of silver.
• M&I copper rose 182% over the 2025 estimate, at a lower average grade of 0.89% copper.
• The estimate feeds a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) targeted for mid-2026, the project's first economics since 2021.
• A restart targeting 4,100 tonnes per day over a 12- to 15-year mine life is targeted for first production in mid-2028.

Selkirk Copper Mines (TSXV: SCMI | OTCQX: SKRKF | FRA: IO20) has released an updated mineral resource estimate (MRE) for its Minto copper-gold-silver project in central Yukon, Canada, raising measured and indicated (M&I) copper by 182% over the 2025 estimate. The updated figures, released on July 30, 2026, with an effective date of June 10, 2026, feed a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) targeted for mid-2026, the project's first economics since 2021. 

Updated Resource Estimate

The 2026 estimate establishes 47.8 million tonnes of M&I resources grading 0.89% copper, 0.34 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, and 3.2 g/t silver. That contains 940 million pounds of copper, 530,000 ounces of gold, and 4.97 million ounces of silver. The estimate was prepared independently by Moose Mountain Technical Services.  

M&I copper is 182% higher than the 2025 estimate, and total M&I tonnage rose 280%, while the average grade fell from 1.20% copper to 0.89% copper. Selkirk Copper attributes about half of the increase in indicated resources to higher metal prices and design assumptions that brought lower-grade material above the economic cut-off, and about half to drilling that expanded existing lenses at Minto North and Ridgetop and defined new ones at Area 118.

President and Chief Executive Officer of Selkirk Copper Mines, M. Colin Joudrie, ties the drilling to the coming economics: 

"We've just completed a significant drill campaign that's augmenting our understanding of the resource so that we can get to that targeted 12 to 15 year mine life, and in the next month or so, we're going to see the first economics on this asset since 2021 with an updated preliminary economic assessment and an updated mineral resource estimate that includes all of our recent drilling." 

The mine plans built on the updated estimate will support the assessment.

Project & Regional Context 

The Minto project is located in central Yukon, about 250 kilometres north of Whitehorse, within the Minto-Carmacks copper belt. It is a past-producing mine that reached peak annual output of 31,000 tonnes of copper, 40,000 ounces of gold, and 355,000 ounces of silver in 2016 before being placed on care and maintenance in October 2018. Pembridge Resources, operating as Minto Metals, resumed production in 2019 and ran the mine until it entered insolvency in May 2023.

The Selkirk First Nation acquired the Minto assets in 2025, vended the project to Selkirk Copper through a reverse takeover, and is now the company's largest shareholder at 18.2%. A gold and silver stream previously held by Wheaton Precious Metals, which had paid Wheaton more than US$250 million over the life of the mine, and a concentrate offtake previously held by Sumitomo were both removed during the prior owner's insolvency. The only remaining royalty is a 1.5% net smelter return payable to the Selkirk First Nation.

Joudrie frames the development work plainly:  

"This feasibility study will be an execution-like feasibility study, and we can do that because we don't have to do ground-up engineering on everything. A lot of the bones are already here, and we can now focus on what does it mean to come out of the ground and to do it cost-effectively."

An existing processing plant, a 400-person camp, water treatment, and grid-power connections remain on site from the mine's previous operation. 

Development Plan & Timeline 

The restart is designed around a throughput of 4,100 tonnes per day, or about 1.5 million tonnes of ore a year, over a 12- to 15-year mine life, targeting roughly 30,000 tonnes of copper equivalent a year in concentrate. Engineering for the trade-off study and the assessment is being carried out by Hatch and SRK Consulting. 

Joudrie is precise on the production target:  

"The objective is to produce on a copper equivalent basis 30,000 tons of metal contained in concentrate, so think 18 to 22,000 tons of copper, 25,000 ounces of gold, and about 250,000 ounces of silver on an average basis through the mine life." 

The estimate and the assessment are the first in a sequenced set of studies. A feasibility study (FS) is targeted to begin in the third quarter of 2026 and be completed in mid-2027, with a permit-amendment submission targeted for October 2026 and an investment decision targeted for mid-2027. The plan targets first production in mid-2028, with mill commissioning targeted for the first quarter of 2028.

Recent Share-Price Performance

Selkirk Copper shares recently traded at C$1.82, giving a market capitalisation of about C$286 million. The stock has risen from around C$0.50 in November 2025.

Resource Base & Exploration Upside   

Beyond the M&I base, Minto holds 16.9 million tonnes of inferred resources grading 0.76% copper, containing 281 million pounds of copper, 142,000 ounces of gold, and 1.5 million ounces of silver. The updated estimate is supported by a 52,288-metre Phase 1 programme of 175 holes that hit economic-grade mineralisation in 87% of holes.

A 50,000-metre Phase 2 programme, about 75% complete as of July 30, 2026, is not included in the updated estimate. Selkirk Copper holds 26,850 hectares in the Minto-Carmacks copper belt, of which only about 3 kilometres of a 7-kilometre mineralised trend has been drilled. 

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