Goldcorp has questions to answer about Yukon mining project

Mining giant Goldcorp has almost 300 questions to answer before Yukon's environmental screening agency will begin assessing the company's application to build a gold mine 130 kilometres south of Dawson City.

The Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board (YESAB) sent the questions about the Coffee project to Goldcorp on Feb. 7.

"That report contains the information requests YESAB received from the various regulators, federal and Yukon, as well as First Nations," said the company's project manager, Buddy Crill.

"We have found 280 information requests in that report, which is about what was expected," he said.

The company has 180 days to provide the answers, but Crill expects that can be done in about a month.

The questions are mainly technical and ask for more information ranging from the impact of access roads at the site to how rental vacancy rates will be affected in Yukon communities.

The assessment board says the information is needed before the company's application is deemed adequate for the boardto do a proper assessment.

Once the answers are submitted they'll be circulated to the First Nations and regulators who sent in the questions, said Crill.

There could be another round of follow-up questions after that.