Stephen Mead, the assistant deputy minister of Mineral Resources, use a map to illustrate where future remediation work will be done at the Minto Mine site. Photo Couresty of Macklen Linke/CKRW.
Whitehorse, YT – It could take roughly three years before the reclamation work at the Minto Mine is expected to be completed since the original abandonment of the area in May of 2023 and amid ongoing efforts to sell the site according to the Yukon Government.
The reclamation progress so far has been made on the removal of underground infrastructure, including pumps and electrical systems, as well as carefully allowing the underground areas to refill with roughly 60,000 cubic meters of water every month.
Current work includes the building of an ice bridge which will facilitate the transport of heavy equipment to the site and planning the safe disposal of approximately 76,000 kilograms of explosives over two weeks in late March. Other future work includes actively treating surface and groundwater and recontouring roughly 40 hectares of waste dumps.
This is happening amidst an ongoing process, led by Price Waterhouse Cooper, to sell the site but Darren Stall, Director of Assessment and Abandoned Mines, says that even with the remediation work and a potential sale a re-opening of a mine at that location isn’t off the table.
“Doing all the reclamation work at the site doesn’t preclude the site from reopening at a future date,” said Stall. “This has been done in Yukon and through other jurisdictions from time to time where they’ve been closed and reopened at later dates.”
The Yukon Government currently holds $75.2 million in financial security, consisting of a surety bond and cash security, which is being used to cover the costs of the remediation work. Since the abandonment of the site last year to this February, roughly $20 million has been spent with that number expected to grow to $24 million at the end of the fiscal year this March.
For the 2024-2025 fiscal year, the Yukon Government has allocated a budget of $21.5 million for the reclamation work.
The active period of remediation work is expected to last roughly three years, with major earthwork activities kicking off in the summer of 2024. Stephen Mead, the Assistant Deputy Minister of Mineral Resources, says that after those three years, there could be another lengthy period of monitoring the area.
“We anticipate having to monitor for some years afterward as well after those three years,” said Mead. “Right now that adaptation period, we’re thinking maybe that has a similar period of three years, but recognizing the site’s quite dynamic, we have to be able to react and respond to that.”
Throughout the entire process, the Selkirk First Nation has been involved in various technical roles including providing insights into the planning, implementation, and monitoring of the reclamation work as well as engaging in discussions around long-term use of the site.
There are also various possible commercial and economic opportunities for the Selkirk First Nation including possible job opportunities.
