Yukon approval of Carmacks Copper project puts water at risk, critic warns
The Yukon government has approved a proposed copper mine near Carmacks, much to the chagrin of critics, who say recommendations by an environmental assessment board don't do enough to protect water.
In a decision dated Friday, the government accepted the findings of the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board (YESAB), which called for Western Copper Corp.'s Carmacks Copper project to proceed without an environmental review.
The approval includes 148 recommendations to make sure the Vancouver-based company's proposed open-pit copper mine can operate and be shut down with little adverse environmental impact.
The mine, to be located 38 kilometres northwest of Carmacks, is expected to employ about 100 people and produce 14,000 tonnes of pure copper cathode a year over its seven-year lifespan.
Karen Baltgailis, executive director of the Yukon Conservation Society, said she's still worried about the risks the mine poses to the Yukon River ecosystem, given that Western Copper proposes using an acid heap leach method to extract copper from the rock.
Baltgailis argued that the acid leaching process has never been tested on a large scale in the Yukon, and the assessment board's recommendations — which have now been approved by the government — give no guarantee that it can be carried out safely.
"I'm afraid those recommendations do not give us comfort," she said Monday.
"They are very vague and the recommendations really don't give any kind of detailed way to deal with those potential problems."
'Groundbreaking day' for Yukon, CEO says
In a news release sent Monday, Western Copper chairman and CEO Dale Corman called the government's decision "a groundbreaking day for mining in the Yukon," noting that Carmacks Copper is the first mining project to be approved by the territorial government under the Yukon Environmental Socio-economic Assessment Act.
"We are confident that YESAB thoroughly reviewed all environmental and socio-economic aspects of the project and that the mine will make a positive contribution to the Yukon," Corman stated in the release.
Western Copper still needs to acquire a water licence from the Yukon Water Board before it can start building a mine.
Baltgailis said her society will present its opposition when Western Copper applies for that licence.
The Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation, which also opposes Western Copper's proposal, has threatened legal action if the Carmacks Copper project is approved. It had not said Monday what it plans to do in light of the decision.