After several years of setbacks, production has resumed at Yukon Zinc Corp.'s Wolverine mine.

The company is owned by Jinduicheng Molybdenum Group Co. Ltd., a privately owned Chinese corporation and one of the largest lead production companies in the world.

The Wolverine site, about 180 km southeast of Ross River, produces high-grade zinc, silver, copper, lead and gold.

The underground operation has a 9 1/2-year expected mine life and is anticipated to be one of the highest-producing mines in the territory in the coming decade.

"We are not yet in full production, but we are certainly ramping up production,” company spokesperson Shea Dalphond said last month.

"We are accessing more openings to the mine and have been able to develop the site further and anticipate commercial production in early 2012.”

Commercial production is about 60 per cent of the 1,700 ton per day milling capacity, which the mine site is capable of producing at top levels, though those numbers are still likely to be some time away.

Wolverine was originally scheduled to begin production by 2010 but suffered two on-site fatalities within the last two years, slowing the company's momentum considerably.

The first occurred on Oct. 19, 2009, when 20-year-old contract worker Paul Wentzell was struck by a Toyota Land Cruiser after the emergency brake failed on a 15-degree ramp.

The second, on April 25, 2010, resulted in the death of another contractor, Mark Hill of Kelowna, B.C., who was working on a piece of equipment when he was trapped and killed in a cave-in.

The incidents saw the company placed under a workers' compensation board stop work order and a heightened level of scrutiny placed on the company by the board.

"What we did was establish a number of issues and ordered a stop work order for the company,” said Kurt Dieckmann, Director of occupational health and safety at the territorial workers' compensation board.

"Then, as they complied, we lifted the orders. As of now, they have complied with all of our requirements.”

Wolverine was also asked to provide ground support and engineering plans for review by the board, which they too provided.

Since the incidents, Yukon Zinc says it has taken extra steps to ensure future safety of workers at the site.

"We have increased our site safety and our health and safety practices,” said Dalphond.

"We have looked at increased training and site protection, we have mine rescue trainees and we are just basically increasing the culture of safety up there and have run a lot of site safety and specific on the job training.” The area of the mine site where the accident occurred is still off-limits, said Dieckmann.

Currently, Wolverine is in production of all three main concentrates —lead, copper and zinc— and though officials have not released exact production figures, they say they are well on the way to reaching 60 per cent production by next year.

Yukon Zinc currently employs about 140 workers at the Wolverine site, about 32 per cent of whom are Yukoners.

The operation is on unsurrendered traditional Kaska territory, and about 16 per cent of the operation's workforce are Kaska Dena. Yukon Zinc plans to continue investment in the region as production levels increase.

"We have a socioeconomic agreement signed with Ross River,” said Dalphond.

" So certainly we have been able to launch our scholarships this year and continue to work on other community support initiatives and ongoing training.

"Right now, we have launched the heavy equipment operator position; that's for six Kaska workers, and so basically they will get onsite certification, which can be applied at other operations in the territory as well.”

Wolverine, which has begun hiring once again, is expected to be a significant factor in the all around future economic growth of the territory

Among the leaders in the local mining boom, the company is expected to keep production numbers high over the next decade, something officials say they should now be able to achieve along with heightened focus on health and safety.