Canada's Yukon Territory is historically known for its prolific gold production. However, the territory is also home to potentially a tier-one copper district known as the Minto Copper Belt.The area already has one copper producer with Minto Mines' underground operations producing a record 9.1 million pounds of copper in the first quarter of this year.According to mining executives exploring the area, Minto's operations are just a fraction of the region's potential.Minto recently showcased its operations during the Yukon Mining Alliance Investment Conference and property tours. Although the mine has been around since 2007, the company is relatively new, going public in November 2021.The new focus on copper in Canada's northwestern territory comes as analysts and economists continue to see long-term demand for the base metal as the world transitions to green renewable energy.All the metal Minto produces is sold to Sumitomo in Japan.The mine has produced 500 million pounds of copper in the last 15 years.Vice President of Exploration at Minto David Benson said that the company had embarked on a busy drill program as they looked to unlock the property's full potential.Currently, the mine produces around 3,200 tons of ore per day.Benson said that the company planned to push production up to 4,000 tons by next year as it opened access to other deposits on the property.However, Minto is just one project in a district that could potentially span 85 kilometers. At the southern end of the belt, Granite Creek Copper is currently exploring and developing its Carmack project, which it acquired in 2019.The company also said that the project contained 651 million pounds of copper, 8.5 million pounds of molybdenum, 302,000 ounces of gold and 2.8 million ounces of silver.Willem Middelkoop, the Founder of the Commodity Discovery Fund, attended the Yukon mining conference and said that while copper prices had potential to fall further, the metal should still be well supported even in a recession.
Middelkoop also noted that if a recession hit, governments worldwide would be quick to introduce new spending measures on infrastructure, which would increase the growing demand for copper.
