Yukon gov't temporarily extends some placer mining licences while working through permit backlog

Chris MacIntyre · CBC News

· Posted: May 30, 2025 9:16 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

The Yukon authorities is issuing impermanent licence extensions to placer miners successful the queue for licence renewals arsenic staff work through the backlog of licence approvals and licence renewal applications.

On Thursday, the territory made "temporary" amendments to the Placer Mining Land Use Regulation and the Quartz Mining Land Use Regulation to o.k. extensions to eligible operators — and temporary additions to the Waters Regulation to authorize eligible operators to usage h2o accordant with the presumption of their existing licence portion seeking a licence renewal.

"We consciousness this volition assistance alleviate the unit connected the wide system," said John Streicker, Yukon's curate of energy, mines and resources.

The determination comes aft placer miners and advocates went nationalist astir delays that were costing them their quality to work. Some had been successful limbo for implicit a twelvemonth waiting for their approvals.

Streicker said extensions volition beryllium fixed to operators whose licences are adjacent to expiring, including 19 operators whose licences precocious expired portion successful queue for renewal. Extensions volition besides beryllium fixed to "previously approved projects that person been done the First Nations consultation process and are wrong the temporal, spatial and enactment scope of the determination documents already successful place."

"The mode we're looking astatine this is due to the fact that those mines person already been operating, already did consultation and engagement connected them, we tin let them to proceed successful a impermanent mode portion we enactment done the backlog," Streicker told CBC News.

Streicker said this doesn't alteration the licence renewal or permitting support process, but it's a impermanent mode to support radical moving portion inactive pursuing regulations.

He added that his section has already begun contacting placer miners to notify them of the extension.

Will Fellers is the president of the Klondike Placer Miners Association.

He said helium was precise gladsome to perceive astir caller changes, but helium wants to talk with the Minister earlier helium gets excessively excited astir thing conscionable yet. 

"We cognize the government's been moving connected this down the scenes and I'm gladsome to spot thing yet has came retired of it," Fellers told CBC News.

"I haven't been briefed connected it yet. This is conscionable new, truthful it volition beryllium absorbing to perceive from John [Streicker] precisely what the specifics are of this but if its the lawsuit it's a large measurement successful getting the operators backmost being capable to spell retired connected the onshore and backmost to enactment again.

"That makes maine blessed to hear."