Excitement is hard to share, mines chamber says – by Chuck Tobin (Whitehorse Star – December 4, 2017)

http://www.whitehorsestar.com/

Yukoners should pay close attention as land use planning goes forward in the future, says the executive director of the Yukon Chamber of Mines. With Friday’s Supreme Court of Canada decision, the amount of land unavailable to pursue mineral exploration in the territory is now up over 50 per cent, he pointed out.

Samson Hartland said today the mining industry is very competitive around the world, and investment dollars are already tight to come by. The Yukon needs to be careful it doesn’t push itself out of that marketplace by closing the door on the industry, he suggested during an interview.

He said with several more regional land use plans still to be hashed out – Dawson City, Mayo, Whitehorse, Teslin – it’s certain there will be more land withdrawals. Land withdrawals, Hartland said, are the number one concern for the mining sector, and the industry pays attention to them.

“The trajectory that we are on is highly disconcerting not only to our jurisdiction but in the eyes of PDAC (Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada) and MAC (Mining Association of Canada) when it comes to competitiveness,” he said.

“Land withdrawal is the number one challenge from the perspective of the mining industry today.” Hartland said future regional planning must be evidence-based, using scientific, biological and socio-economic factors that include mineral potential.

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