Representatives from the territory's three producing mines painted a rosy picture of their industry at the Yukon Geoscience Forum this morning.

The "Producers' Panel” included the representatives from the Minto, Bellekeno and Wolverine Mines, as well as the vice-president of Victoria Gold Corp. and the president of the Yukon Chamber of Mines and Yukon College.

They gave current company figures (how much they produce, how many workers they employ, etc.) and spoke on the challenges of running an operation in an isolated region with a small population.

"During the (territorial) election, I really felt unloved,” said Claire Derome, the chamber's president and moderator of this morning's panel.

"I was being told our industry didn't contribute to the economy, that workers were just flying in and flying out. I was told, ‘You better get your act together and make them pay.'”

Derome said she hopes this panel gives the industry a chance to tell its side of the story.

Before handing the microphone over to the industry representatives, she emphasized just how well the territory's economy is doing.

According to the chamber, the Yukon's gross domestic product has grown 34 per cent over the past decade.

The territory's average personal disposable income, or what Derome calls "money in our pocket,” has grown from $28,000 a year in 2001 to $43,000 a year now.

Mining makes up 10 per cent of the Yukon's economy. In 2006, it was only 2.6 per cent, according to the chamber's research.

It cost the operators of the Minto, Bellekeno and Wolverine Mines $233 million to run their mines last year, Derome continued.

Paying their employees cost the companies $58 million, with an average annual wage of almost $78,000.

The three mine operators have around 750 employees. More than 300 of those are from the Yukon and around 150 of those are First Nations.

Hiring skilled local workers seemed to be an issue for all three mines.

"It's an ongoing and challenging process trying to find local tradesmen,” said Brad Thrall, executive vice-president of Alexco Resources, which own the Bellekeno mine.

Don Strickland, the general manager of the Wolverine Mine, agrees.

"The mining industry is a booming industry,” he said. "It's hard to get talent and hard to retain talent. That's a problem that's happening all over the world.”

Strickland said the Wolverine Mine needs skilled, underground miners, and that's not a "skill you learn overnight.”

But other than the challenges of finding a local workforce, paying high prices to build infrastructure in their isolated camps and finding a decent price for power, all three representatives seemed pleased with how their operations are running.

The Minto Mine is producing 3,600 tones of copper, gold and silver a day. The open pit mine intends to start underground operations by early 2012.

"I see a long future in Yukon,” said Colleen Roche, the general manager of the Minto Mine.

The Bellekeno silver mine is hoping to open up the Onek and Lucky Queen deposits in the Keno Hill district in the next few years.

The Wolverine mine produces 500 to 600 tons of zinc, lead and copper a day, but Strickland called the mine still in its "early days.”

By the time they hope to hit full commercial production in 2012, they plan to produce about 1,700 tones per day.

Strickland said the Wolverine Mine has about a 10-year mine life.

Mark Ayranto, vice-president of Victoria Gold, spoke of the permitting process his company is going through now to get the Eagle gold mine up and running.

Ayranto said he's relieved the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Act (YESAA) is a streamlined process, but because it's so new, it's still up for scrutiny.

Karen Barnes, the president of Yukon College, told the rest of the panel the college wants to play a part in finding solutions to their problems.

She spoke about the Centre for Northern Innovation in Mining and the two new geosciences programs the college will offer next fall.