08:07 AM EDT, 04/10/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Western Copper and Gold ( WRN ) , up 16% in U.S. pre-market trading, on Thursday provided an update on several infrastructure initiatives supporting the development of its Casino project in Whitehorse, Yukon.

Project planning activities for a high-voltage transmission energy corridor connecting the Yukon electrical grid to the North American grid in British Columbia have begun. Western Copper has secured $40 million funding from Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), while Yukon Development has agreed to contribute 25% funding over and and above the $40 million.

The company also reported that part of the funding that had been allocated to the Casino Access Road has now been diverted to the Dempster Highway in the Yukon Resource Gateway Project, as part of the initiative to boost Arctic security and regional connectivity. Western is in talks with the Yukon government, and discussions on future funding are expected to advance as the project moves through the environmental assessment process, which includes the road.

Western has also completed an updated transportation study evaluating options for shipping concentrate from the Casino Project to the Port of Skagway, which is the northernmost, ice-free, deep-water port in North America. Several transportation alternatives were identified, with costs broadly in-line with, or lower than, the company's 2022 feasibility study estimates.

The company's shares were last seen up US$0.16, to US$1.12, in U.S. pre-market trading.