Exploration project moves forward in Yukon, slower in N.W.T.
Last Updated: Wednesday, July 8, 2009 | 3:09 PM CT
CBC News
A major lead-zinc ore exploration project that straddles the Yukon-Northwest Territories boundary has been moving ahead on the Yukon side but still awaits final regulatory approval on the N.W.T. side.
Selwyn Resources is exploring an area in Howard's Pass, near Tulita, N.W.T. — a tract of land that has been described as one of the largest undeveloped lead-zinc deposits in the world.
The deposit straddles the boundary between N.W.T. and the Yukon.
Selwyn said when it decided to explore the size of the ore deposit the company needed to obtain an environmental assessment, provide a land use plan and get permits from both sides of the boundary.
In the Yukon, that took 90 days. In the Northwest Territories it has taken 2½ years just to get the environmental assessment, which was just completed.
Company spokesman Justin Himmelright said that means they've pushed ahead to spend $50 million exploring the Yukon side of the deposit.
"Essentially it means that none of the investment we've been making in the project has been going into the Northwest Territories. It's been focused exclusively in the Yukon to this point."
In the Yukon, Selwyn set up two 50-person camps and the firm has been busy drilling test holes for a couple of years.
Larry Wallace, chair of the N.W.T. Sahtu Land and Water Board, said Selwyn wants to explore a conservation area that may one day become part of the expanded Nahanni National Park. As a result, Wallace said, people in the Sahtu region have a land claim, and they have the right to take a closer look at the mining project. If that means the process takes longer on the N.W.T. side, then that's the way it is.
"There were projects going on where people didn't have a say," Wallace noted. "They really didn't know exactly what was going on. Now they do. And that happens under the new regime."
Wallace said that when all local concerns are addressed, the Sahtu will be happy to start issuing permits.
Selwyn, meantime, still needs to find a partner with deep enough pockets to build a mine, regardless of which side of the border it's on.
Share Tools
Latest North News Headlines
- Yukoners need to change poverty perceptions, says report
- A new report on poverty in Yukon is calling for action from the territorial government. However, poverty activists are also calling for Yukoners to adjust their attitudes. more »
- Iqaluit man pleads guilty to drug and sex offences
- A sentencing hearing is underway today in Iqaluit for the man who once ran the so-called 'Qikiqtaaluk Compassion Society' where he sold marijuana. more »
- Investigation finds 3 electoral violations in N.W.T. riding
- There were three violations of the elections act during last fall's N.W.T. election. All three happened in the Monfwi riding. more »
- N.W.T. budget calls for $74M surplus
- The N.W.T. is forecasting its first surplus in five years in its 2012-2013 budget, Finance Minister Michael Miltenberger announced in the legislative assembly this afternoon. more »
Top News Headlines
- Everest victim's family asks for government help
- The family of a Toronto woman who died in pursuit of her lifelong dream to climb Mount Everest is asking the Canadian government to help pay the cost of bringing her body back to Canada. more »
- Teens share bullying tales in confession booth
- Raw stories about bullying emerged when a video booth was set up inside a Quebec high school. more »
- Foreign investment review threshold rising to $1 billion
- The federal government is raising to $1 billion the amount of foreign money that can go into a Canadian company before the investment is reviewed. more »
- Double-lung recipient dances on Ellen show
- Organ donation advocate Hèlène Campbell of Ottawa made her second appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, but her first since undergoing a double-lung transplant. more »
- Investigation finds 3 electoral violations in N.W.T. riding
- Iqaluit man pleads guilty to drug and sex offences
- Whitehorse man appeals drunk driving conviction
- N.W.T. budget calls for $74M surplus
- Yukoners need to change poverty perceptions, says report
- N.W.T. commissioner's goals for the territory
- Memorial service held Saturday for Ice Pilots' Arnie Schreder
- Winning lottery ticket sold in Whitehorse
- Baker Lake hunters worry mine will disturb caribou
