Yukon’s mineral industry is a foundation of the territory’s private-sector economy. The complex geology of Yukon and the North American Cordillera have resulted in the territory's well-documented high mineral potential. Prospectors, miners, and development companies alike have been lured by the opportunities of Yukon's mineral wealth.
Smaller scale placer mining and large scale hard rock or quartz mines have produced jobs and opportunity in Yukon since the early 1900s. Some of Yukon's most notable mines include the Whitehorse Copper, the United Keno Hill mine, which at one time was Canada's largest producer of silver, and the Faro mine.
In 2007 and 2008 mineral exploration companies invested a total of 227 million dollars in Yukon. The Minto mine opened in 2007, as Yukon's first producing mine in 11 years. Many other projects such as Wolverine, near Ross River, are poised to begin production.
