Big Mines Under the Microscope
The Yukon Conservation Society has a mining analyst who concentrates mainly on quartz or hard-rock mining, as opposed to placer mining.
He likes to joke that the job involves stopping mining in the Yukon. As the reader may be aware, he has not been successful as of late.
This bon mot partially reflects YCS’s position on mining – the society is not necessarily against mining, as long as it is done in appropriate areas, uses best environmental practices, and has comprehensive and adequately funded closure plans.
The mining analyst’s work involves a lot of watch-dogging of existing mines, to ensure they meet the environmental conditions of their approved licences. It also involves a lot of commenting on proposed exploration projects and potential mines. Sometimes it involves fighting the project to ensure it doesn’t go ahead, sometimes it means reviewing a project and suggesting to the environmental assessors changes to the project or project standards to ensure the environment is protected.
The Environmental assessment process
A mining project, at least for a new mine, goes through quite a few stages, including staking (selecting and marking the area, then submitting that claim to the Yukon Government), and exploration (searching for and developing mineral deposits). Then, maybe, a decision is made to go ahead with an actual mine.
Of course, this is vastly simplified – there is funding considerations, corporate priorities, agreements with local governments… And last but definitely not least environmental assessment. That last point is where YCS comes in.
The YCS mining analyst focuses a lot of time on participating in Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board (YESAB) and Yukon Water Board (YWB) reviews. Only after the YESAB and YWB processes are complete, and the Yukon Government has issued a mining licence, can a mine proceed.
This means that getting the YESAB and the YWB environmental licensing aspects of the project right is very important if the land, water and air of the Yukon are to be protected.
Participating in the YESAB process can look a bit daunting but it is actually quite easy. Here is a flow chart of the YESAB Executive Committee review process. The bit in the middle refers to the Screening phase, and where the public can provide input. The YWB is a bit more complicated, but we’ll save that for another day.
Quite easy, as a mining analyst would say. Image source: YESAB.
Current projects being assessed
There are three big mining and mining related projects going through the Yukon environmental assessment process:
At the present time none of these projects are open to public review or comment, but some documents are available on the YESAB registry for scrutiny. It is expected the public review stage will be soon.
What we do
The Yukon Conservation Society (YCS) will be examining these YESAB applications very carefully and submitting comments once the process permits public submissions.
Protection of the land, water, and air, is often an afterthought when it comes to new mining projects and expansion of existing ones.
YCS participates in YESAB processes to ensure safeguards are in place, such as making sure mining projects:
Take place in appropriate areas
Use best environmental practices
Have comprehensive and adequately funded closure plan
Mine remediation projects, such as the Mount Nansen one, are interesting. YCS very much wants to see abandoned mine sites cleaned up, but the remediation process can involve negative environmental impacts. Moving a lot of old mine tailings and waste rock around, disturbing surface water flows, and even revegetating sites requires finesse and skill if the environment is to be protected. A full environmental assessment is certainly warranted, and YCS will be participating in the public review stage.
What can you do?
If there are any YCS members who would like to volunteer their time in helping staff review any of these projects feel free to contact the YCS Mining Analyst at mining@yukonconservation.ca.
