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Mike Burke

‘Fair and efficient’ review urged for mining plan

The Yukon’s overhauled regulatory regime will be tested by the Coffee Project, says the president of the Yukon Chamber of Mines.

By Whitehorse Star on January 8, 2016

The Yukon’s overhauled regulatory regime will be tested by the Coffee Project, says the president of the Yukon Chamber of Mines.

Mike Burke said Thursday afternoon that Kaminak Gold has spent the money and done the work to take the Coffee property from nothing more than a positive soil sample in 2009 to what is being described this week as one of the world’s most promising gold projects.

Kaminak, the chamber president told the Star, has worked its tail off; it’s done the heavy lifting over the last six years.

It’s time now for the territory’s regulators to respond with the same commitment and diligence, he said.

“The shoe is on the other foot,” Burke said a day after Kaminak unveiled a very positive feasibility study with plans to begin construction of the open pit mine by mid-2018.

“Now it’s up to YESAB (Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board) and others to be fair and efficient, and get this through the regulatory process.

“Timely, fair and efficient, that is all anybody wants.”

The territory’s regulatory regime is undergoing a procedural make-over.

Premier Darrell Pasloski and Energy, Mines and Resources Minister Scott Kent have promised all hands will be on deck to forge a new regulatory regime which is more responsive and time sensitive.

They’ve even created a new branch to oversee the work.

Burke said Kaminak’s project will be the first to test out the new ride.

The company’s not looking for shortcuts, he said; all it wants is a timely and fair process.

The industry will be watching, he added.

Burke said two years to screen and approve a project of this scope and size are not unreasonable.

The feasibility study released Wednesday said the open pit operation and the use of heap leaching to recover the gold is highly profitable even at today’s depressed gold prices.

The study – completed in compliance with strict industry standards – currently predicts a mine life of 10 years, and a full-time labour force of 435. Employment during construction is expected to peak at 480 workers.

In today’s dollars, it will cost Kaminak $550 to produce every ounce of gold, leaving a net return of $600 per ounce in today’s market, the study says.

It says the $317 million in capital required to build the mine can be paid back in two years.

Kaminak president Eira Thomas said in an interview Thursday from Toronto the company will be moving full-speed-ahead to meet its target of beginning construction in 2018.

It’s the simplicity of the Coffee Project that makes it a low-cost mine with high returns, she said.

Thomas said there is no requirement for a mill, nor a tailings pond or dam, because the mining simply involves digging the ore, crushing it and placing it on a heap that will be leached using commonly accept methods, she said.

For years, the industry has raised concerns about the timeliness of the territory’s regulatory regime.

One of the major concerns is having to complete the YESAB screening before moving into the review by the Yukon Water Board.

Thomas said her team is working closely with the First Nations, the Yukon government and the regulators.

They fully expect the YESAB review and the water board screening will advance separately but at the same time to the extent possible, she said.

Allison Rippin Armstrong, who heads Kaminak’s regulatory team, had nothing but good to say this morning about her experience in the Yukon so far.

The company is working collaboratively with First Nations, the Yukon government, the regulators and assessors, she said.

Rippin Armstrong said while streamlining the regulatory regime is still an effort in progress, everybody is working at it very hard. She has no doubt Kaminak will have what it needs to begin construction by mid-2018.

“I see big strides being made by the Yukon government, YESAB and the Yukon Water Board,” she said. “I am so happy to see they are working collaboratively.

“They are meeting some aggressive timelines, and I think it will only improve on a system in a jurisdiction that is already great to work in.”

Rippin Armstrong said for its part, Kaminak has to continue building relationships with the First Nations and all parties involved.

The company has been working closely with the Tr’öndek Hwëch’in through the years of its exploration program and has already established a joint technical committee with the First Nation, she said.

“It has been a relationship that has been growing as our project has been growing.”

She said Kaminak wants to ensure it’s fully engaged with all the affected First Nations, with all the parties.

“The main thing for me is the level of effort we have made to date, and are continuing, to make sure everybody is aware of our project,” said Rippin Armstrong.

“Collaboration with the First Nations is so critical for us. It’s been our approach all the way along with our project.”

Rippin Armstrong said Kaminak’s goal is to ensure when the project proposal is delivered to YESAB for review this summer, everybody will already know and understand what’s in the document; that there will be absolutely no surprises.

The company will be engaging with all parties to ensure the concerns are addressed prior to submitting the proposal, to ensure mitigation measures reflect what the company has heard, she said.

“For us, it is making sure what we submit to YESAB does not come as a surprise to anyone,” she said. “We are very confident we can achieve our timeline.”

Comments (11)

Up 0 Down 2

Sure Sure on Jan 14, 2016 at 4:25 pm

Sure, sure, the same old lines we have heard a thousand times before. The reality is Yukon tax payers, which includes nearly all Yukon First Nations people by the way, continue to pay the price for such comments about acceptable levels of environmental risk. Heap Leaching is dangerous and bad no matter how you want to slice it or dice it. The legacy of which we and our children will pay for a long time into the future.

Up 1 Down 0

Bartholomew H. on Jan 14, 2016 at 12:32 am

Check out the Fort Belknap Montana and the Rum Jungle mine Northern Territory Australia heap leach projects.

Up 1 Down 1

Fairminded person on Jan 14, 2016 at 12:11 am

Surely Mr. Burke is aware of the heap leach project that was shot down some 20 years ago yet he fails to mention this. Beware people.

Up 17 Down 5

ProScience Greenie on Jan 10, 2016 at 5:44 pm

This is a good project with a good company behind it. We need more of it.
Mining needs to be part of a diversified Yukon economy. We can't rely on only government jobs for life and seasonal tourists jobs. Otherwise we'll become haves and have-nots. All Yukoners need to prosper.

Just maybe all the questions Ruger no.1 is asking can be found online. High school science and math is more than enough to go through the plans, data and rules/regs. No need for fear-mongering.
Nothing wrong with holding all players feet to the fire, from the proponents to YESAB to the government.
Mike Burke is far from a threatening person. Shawn Ryan is a real decent person. Just the way it is, no need to spin it to make them look like bad guys.

Up 32 Down 16

Ruger no.1 on Jan 9, 2016 at 7:17 pm

Lots of plan detail, until they just say "commonly accepted methods" for the extraction process.
Well, for gold, that means they are going to spray a cyanide based solution on the rock pile to leach out the gold. This waste needs to be treated as hazardous waste until it's neutralized. If you're going to have a detailed article, then please, include all the details, such as the hazards. Hey, perhaps even include other mining info, like the waste to gold ratio, which is with this process, about 20 tons to the ounce.
So, in this case, where is the waste water being treated?
Carmacks copper put forth a similar plan, and it was found that it risked the Yukon river with cyanide contamination, project didn't move forward, so, I'm all for a good project, but only one that's not going to cost me and every other Yukon taxpayer a bundle for clean up costs. Hey, how about this idea. Mr Ryan is a 2 percent stakeholder in this outside company, how's about he pledge 2 percent of the clean up costs, you know, cause he's a responsible mining shareholder and he believes in the project.

Up 17 Down 16

Salary on Jan 9, 2016 at 2:29 pm

Burke sounds desperate, threatening even.....this would be a good opportunity to see the regulatory process work, but with their feet to the fire it will likely start to smell.....and what an opportunity to cry foul if any conditions are placed on the project that furthers environmental protection.....win win

Up 5 Down 7

Where is the NDP and liberal comments on this project. on Jan 9, 2016 at 2:06 pm

????

Up 11 Down 14

Stu Whatman on Jan 9, 2016 at 1:10 pm

“Now it’s up to YESAB (Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board) and others to be fair and efficient, and get this through the regulatory process.

Why did he have to say that? YESAB has been fair and Kaminak knows this so why put pressure on YESAB?

Up 10 Down 20

Good work the Yukon Party building the Yukon on Jan 9, 2016 at 12:27 pm

future for all.

Up 21 Down 12

Heather Saggers on Jan 9, 2016 at 11:59 am

I for one am happy to hear that there may be an opportunity for some employment that's not Government (in the business of spending tax $). I have not worked in the mining field for over 10 years, but I can honestly say that EVERTHING I own came from mining and with the job I hold today I am struggling to keep it (Home up keep, boat, motor-home). At some point we as a society need to realize that if no one other then government workers pay taxes, there will be less employed (because government workers don't pay enough taxes to cover their own jobs). COME on people grow up.

Up 32 Down 20

Veronique on Jan 9, 2016 at 9:53 am

Yea, it always look so good on paper before the fact... Looking back, not so much in realization...

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