The Eric Sprott-backed company said the government had confirmed the existing mining and water licence, saying it was authorised to restart mining activities following previously assessed mine plans without further assessment or review.

Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in Council had also passed a formal resolution in support of mining and processing resuming, Golden Predator said.

Brewery Creek was said to have produced about 280,000 ounces of gold between 1996-2002 from seven oxide deposits.

It was mothballed by a previous owner when the gold price fell below US$300/oz 17 years ago.

Golden Predator said it was optimising its 2014 preliminary economic assessment, which had only considered 50% of the oxide gold ounces and outlined a mine life of nine years with capex of $89.4 million and recovery of 372,000oz at a cash cost of $788/oz.

The study had put the post-tax NPV (5% discount) and IRR ranging from US$4 million to $69.36 million, and 7%-32% respectively, using a gold price of $1,150oz to $1,500/oz.

Brewery Creek has an oxide resource comprising an indicated 577,000oz and an inferred 279,000oz, plus a sulphide resource of 142,000oz indicated and 546,000oz inferred.

Highlights from resource expansion drilling last year included 8.5m at 5g/t gold from 29m at the Lucky Zone.

"To sum up, Brewery Creek already has a sizeable openpit oxide resource of superior grade and the potential for making significant near-surface additions at a very low cost," CEO Janet Lee-Sheriff said.

She said the company would accelerate exploration and development drilling this summer and looked forward to working with Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in and the government over the coming years as it submitted proposed amendments for eventual expansion.

Golden Predator's other Yukon assets include the 3 Aces gold project, where a bulk sampling programme was underway, and the Yukon Mint.

Its shares were trading at C44c a year ago but fell to 17.5c last month. They gained almost 24% yesterday or 6.5c to close at 34c, capitalising it about $45 million (US$34 million).