Whitehorse Daily Star

Rejection disappoints placer mine proponent

A proposal for a placer mine in the Marsh Lake area has once again been recommended to not go forward by the territory's assessment board, over the impacts it could have on wildlife around the area.

By Palak Mangat on June 1, 2018

A proposal for a placer mine in the Marsh Lake area has once again been recommended to not go forward by the territory's assessment board, over the impacts it could have on wildlife around the area.

Judas Creek was the site of the proposed mine, which would have begun operations next month to September for a period of five years.

It sits about 70 kilometres south of Whitehorse, and flows through the traditional territories of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and Carcross Tagish First Nation, as well as the asserted traditional territory of the Taku River Tlingit First Nation.

An evaluation report dated May 27 showed that the Teslin branch of the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board (YESAB) recommended that the territorial government not give the project a green light.

It goes on to note that while the government accepted the recommendation, it “did not mean that mining activity could not occur in the area provided that suitable mitigation would be identified and incorporated into the project design.”

But even with mining activity not entirely out of the picture, the project’s proposer says he was left discouraged and “won’t even bother doing another application.”

Nicolai Goeppel is listed as the proponent on the plan. He told the Star this week he spent more than a decade “of hard work, time, and money into the ground over there, to find something that nobody has found before.”

The father to a baby girl born last weekend, Goeppel said he had been hopeful this time around.

“There should be a no-development policy in the area” if the region is essentially deemed off-limits, he continued.

Goeppel said that this year’s report seemed like a “copy and paste” of the rejection the board handed down in 2015.

Initially angry, then disappointed, he said he saw it as a missed opportunity.

“It would have actually been a beautiful example of how placer mines could operate,” Goeppel said.

Not being allowed to develop a small placer mine like the one proposed, he wondered: “What chance is there for any hard-rock mining?”

But after looking down at his newborn, Goeppel said he was inspired to examine alternatives to see what advice he could offer the board from the perspective of a person bringing a project forward.

“I just had the greatest experience of my life,” he said, noting he’s happy to have had time to reflect on the rejection.

Admitting that supporting a family may be more difficult now, Goeppel said he feels for other proponents. He doesn’t want them to go through a similar experience of investing a lot of time and effort only for their proposals to be rejected.

“There’s so much we can do with this, it’s a great learning opportunity for young people wanting to get in this business,” he said.

The public comment period saw submissions from residents of Marsh Lake and the Taku River Tlingit First Nation, among others. One of the submissions was by the Yukon Conservation Society.

Lewis Rifkind, a mining analyst with the society, said a significant reason for the rejection was that caribou in the area are already at risk.

“This herd has been hammered off for a variety of reasons: urban sprawl and urban roads,” he said, adding that their habitats have already been negatively impacted.

That’s why “hanging on to what we’ve got left” is important. “And unfortunately, mining is one of those activities that’s not compatible,” he continued.

A spokesperson for the board said that if Goeppel were to take another stab at it, he’d have to submit a proposal to restart the process.

“We don’t assess the same project twice, so he would have to submit a new project,” said Rob Yeomans. He is a communications officer with the board, and added that this proposal was “a scaled-down version” of Goeppel’s 2015 proposal.

Still, though, the board was unable to find any preventative measures.

“Our assessors found that it would result in direct and functional habitat loss along the migration corridor,” Yeomans said.

He continued that while YESAB usually looks for mitigative measures to prevent adverse effects, “in this case we couldn’t come up with any that would limit, reduce or control the effects to caribou herds.”

Meanwhile, Rifkind noted that the process for proponents could be improved.

“If we really want to protect caribou, we shouldn’t allow any developments in these areas,” he said.

That could mean access for ATV owners and hikers is limited, but it would require a management plan “that we don’t really have” right now, he said.

That’s something Goeppel said he hopes will be considered, as taking legal action against the board or government should be people’s last resort.

“It’s ridiculous; if you want to make a point you usually have to involve a lawyer,” he said. “It doesn’t seem right.”

The designation of an area as being off limits for development or exploration proposals would go a long way in saving proponents headaches, Rifkind and Goeppel both noted.

“You can’t let individuals and companies invest thousands of dollars with no guarantee that you’ll be able to work or develop in the area,” Goeppel said, likening it to “playing a rigged game.”

“Maybe we have to have some sort of planning regime,” Rifkind wondered, as a step in the right direction.

He added that that would be up to various levels of government to set up.

This isn’t a foreign idea either, he noted – it’s been done before.

The North Yukon Land Use Plan is a product of five years’ worth of work by the Vuntut Gwitchin and territorial governments, and recommended a number of protected areas.

Adopting a similar approach to more urban areas around Whitehorse could be helpful, Rifkind said.

“They do talk about how much linear disturbance you can have within a square kilometre region,” he said, noting that it’s just one way to address some concerns brought up in comment submissions to YESAB.

Meanwhile, Goeppel said he hopes the overall attitude toward mining will be more encouraging for future generations.

“I love the Yukon,” he said, noting he was born and raised in the territory. “I have roots now that have just been planted here, and I want to share this with them.”

The government has 30 days to issue a decision to YESAB's recommendation. They may reject, accept, or vary the recommendations made by the board.

Comments (14)

Up 28 Down 2

woodcutter on Jun 6, 2018 at 4:04 pm

Rejected plan, oh well, that's the risk and cost of doing business. If you're looking for guarantees then purchase a toaster.

Perhaps your mess that you pleaded guilty too had something to do with it? Your past actions leave your sincerity in question as to respect of the environment, laws and recognition that these lands and waters are for the pleasure of all. If I recall, your defense was that you were not aware of the complex regulations involved. Saying this perhaps this has more to do with rejection of the plan, then some sinister conspiracy by environmentalists.

Let's hope that the YG folks take into consideration all these factors as well as review findings when they make their decisions.

Up 2 Down 0

rick rux on Jun 6, 2018 at 1:51 pm

They are looking at Red ridge.... a prime sheep habitat area ?? Also caribou.

Up 7 Down 34

ProScience Greenie on Jun 5, 2018 at 12:45 pm

Holy cow Sally Wright, even Donald Trump would be impressed with the level of hyperbole posted below. It shows that the further away from the political centre, left, right or green, the less facts needed.

The problem with YESAB is that they don't seem to reject ridiculous or exaggerated public concerns. That needs fixing. It also seems that YG still has a bit of that vindictiveness that was common in INAC where a few bureaucrats got away with flexing their muscles on someone they don't like. That has to stop.

Up 38 Down 11

Sally Wright on Jun 4, 2018 at 11:49 pm

Martin, YCS has been around for 50 years. That collective brainpower has made more sense than any other environmental organisation in North America. Miners have yet to prove that they can reclaim a mine in the Yukon. It has been 119 years since the gold rush and not one mine has been cleaned up.

Up 59 Down 6

concerned citizen on Jun 4, 2018 at 3:56 pm

Is this the same Goeppel who bulldozed an illegal 30 km road into the bush up by Carmacks? Oh yeah, I'm sure this would have been a great example of 'how placer mining can be'.

Thank you for rejecting. Sincerely, concerned citizen.

Up 52 Down 7

Sillig on Jun 4, 2018 at 10:12 am

Interesting Goeppel even asked to mine it. That's not his usual approach because he is from here and what does anyone know with all these knitty rules...ahem Laws....But Da...when I was your age we just dropped the blade and let someone else clean it up....to the future!

Up 6 Down 3

Stu Panton on Jun 3, 2018 at 11:00 pm

Think the mine could have worked if there were strong guidelines. And yes, the Alaska highway is greatest threat to the caribou.

Up 4 Down 21

BnR on Jun 3, 2018 at 8:53 pm

Martin. You assert that the YCS wants to shut down the Yukon.
Ok, prove it. Documentation? Please show your work.
Regardless, YCS is not a decision maker.
Quick, name some other projects that YESAB have not approved.
And honestly, I'm not sure why they didn't approve this one given that they recently approved Apex's proposed drilling programs in the Wheaton area. Nothing of any significance gets shut down in The Yukon.

Up 14 Down 57

ProScience Greenie on Jun 2, 2018 at 11:41 am

Goeppel is a good kid and smart. It's obvious that he's proposing a very small operation no bigger than the smallest sand and gravel operation. Simply not a big deal.

The caribou concerns are a little bit real but this seems to be a case of using that to block a small project for unknown reasons. Real concern for the health of the caribou herd would be lowering the speed limit on the Alaska Hwy and Tagish road to 80 kph. That's what's killing caribou more than anything. And then there's poaching.

It is also looking like YESAB can be compromised and that's not good. At the past public meetings on Goeppel's project opponents were not reined in by YESAB staff, running around from focus group to focus group doctoring responses and exaggerating impacts. Also YESAB gave weight to written comments that were way over the top talking about impossible disaster scenarios such as rolling walls of watery death rolling down Judas Creek destroying everything in it's path all the way to Marsh Lake. Or how the noise and dust, from a very small operation miles away was going to ruin the quality of life for Judas Cr. residents. That kind of fear mongering should be immediately rejected but wasn't. YESAB needs to take better control over this.

The Slinky Mine up in Dawson is another case where YESAB seems to be compromised. It's a shame as YESAB often does good and fair work so perhaps a public review is in order to preserve the integrity of that important organization.

And why so much from Rifkind in this article? A simple statement should do. It makes one wonder just how much influence he and others opposed to almost anything really have in the process. Something is fishy with that.

Anyways, the creek does contain decent placer gold that could be successfully mined with next to no impact so scale it back a bit and let the kid go at it.

Up 13 Down 51

My Opinion on Jun 2, 2018 at 12:28 am

I guess we are just to good for any kind on industrial development here. Some communities would die for these jobs. Some people here are as well. Placer is purely a gravel washing operation. Guess we should shut down all the gravel pits as well. That washed rock you have in your driveway......Same process.

Up 71 Down 7

Peter Mather on Jun 1, 2018 at 10:40 pm

Is this the same fellow who illegally made a 20km cat road into a mine site near Carmacks? Good to see YESAB stand their ground on important issues.

Up 17 Down 18

Martin on Jun 1, 2018 at 7:42 pm

Yukon Conservation Society & Co. would love to convert the whole of the Yukon in a off-limit development site; they been trying it for 25 years now.

Up 39 Down 6

Corinna kelley on Jun 1, 2018 at 6:14 pm

A land use plan is absolutely needed as well as reclamation is needed. Possible land that is rock and barren could be reclaimed as grasslands when mining is complete using soils put aside or peat from other mines brought in for reclaiming areas. Most important are the trees being replaced also including brush like poplar and buffulo berry and alders.

Up 6 Down 1

J2 on Jun 1, 2018 at 4:14 pm

The argument that certain areas be off-limits for development or exploration proposals has been made for years now. Unfortunately, governments have been reluctant to undertake such planning, fearing fewer exploration dollars coming into the territory.

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