Gold, zinc, lead, and silver are the major staples of mining in Yukon. Significant deposits of copper, tungsten, and iron ore are known. There are also significant hard rock and placer gold deposits and important occurrences of asbestos, barite, and coal. Miners have been exploring, extracting, and producing these materials since the early 1900s.
Quick Facts
Exploration has uncovered over 80 mineral deposits with established reserves, and 2,700 mineral occurrences found on mining claims that cover just 3.2 percent of Yukon’s land.
Yukon is home to the Selwyn Basin, which is one of the world’s largest undeveloped lead-zinc districts.
High-grade silver/lead veins were first discovered in the Keno Hill area in 1906. The first mill was constructed in 1925, with intermittent development and production until 1941. The mines were reactivated in 1945 and operated more or less continuously until production was suspended in January 1989 due to low silver prices.
The huge Faro ore body was discovered in 1965, and mine production commenced in 1970 at 6,000 tonnes/day. The Faro mine was one of Canada’s largest lead mines and was a staple of Yukon’s economy for over 15 years. Cyprus Anvil Mining Corporation operated the mine at rates of up to 11,000 tonnes/day until 1982 when production was suspended due to low metal prices. The mine opened and closed a few times before closing its doors for good in 1998. The site is now being reclaimed.
2008 Hard Rock Mining Overview
Mineral exploration in Yukon in 2008 remained strong — exploration expenditures were estimated to be $100 million. There were over 150 active hard rock exploration projects in Yukon: 73 projects recorded expenditures of greater than $100,000, and 22 spent more than $1 million. The remaining projects were regional or grassroots generative projects.
Several advanced exploration projects returned significant drill results, highlighting the under-explored potential of these properties even at an advanced stage of exploration. Yukon’s untapped mineral potential is exemplified by several significant new discoveries made on exploration properties this year. Mine development expenditures were incurred at the Minto copper-gold-silver mine, where the mill underwent a phase 3 expansion, and at the Wolverine zinc-silver-copper-gold-lead deposit, where development has begun and production is scheduled for the third quarter of 2010.
