Selkirk Copper Mines (TSXV: SCMI) has begun a scoping study to evaluate shipping critical mineral concentrate through the Port of Skagway, a piece of logistics work that sits at the centre of the company’s plan to restart its Minto mine in Yukon.
The study, announced jointly with the Municipality of Skagway Borough, will assess options to move concentrate safely through the port. KPFF Consulting Engineers was awarded the engineering contract in May 2026, and the two parties executed a funding agreement on July 17, with Selkirk contributing US$200,000. Results are expected in September.
The port is a logical target. Skagway is the northernmost ice free, deep water port in North America, offering year round access between the contiguous United States, Interior Alaska, Canada, Asia and Europe. Alongside two cruise terminals, it runs an industrial port that already handles critical minerals, diesel and a mix of containerized and break-bulk goods.
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“Creating a modern, cost-effective, and environmentally responsible option to ship Selkirk Copper’s high value copper-gold-silver concentrate to the global market is a critical part of our mine restart strategy,” said President and Chief Executive Officer M. Colin Joudrie, who called the year spent with the municipality assessing the available options “time well spent.”
Mayor Orion Hanson framed it as an economic question. The borough’s Ports and Harbors Advisory Board and Assembly “are looking for opportunities to diversify the economy of Skagway in an environmentally responsible manner,” he said, in a manner “that meets the needs of the citizens.”
The shipping question arrives as the underlying asset gets bigger. An updated resource estimate released July 30 lifted measured and indicated copper by 182% and gold by 184%, to 47.8 million tonnes grading 0.89% copper and 0.34 g/t gold. Inferred resources meanwhile sit at 16.9 million tonnes grading 0.76% copper and 0.26 g/t gold.
Selkirk has also started collecting geotechnical, geometallurgical and environmental data to support a feasibility study targeted for mid-2027.
Selkirk Copper Mines last traded at $1.75 on the TSX Venture.
