Yukon is cutting red tape for major miners.
What happened: The Yukon government has updated its mining regulations in a bid to attract more investment and speed up approvals. The territory’s mineral resources branch will be split into two divisions: one handling quartz and placer permits, the other focused on guiding companies through the permitting process for large-scale projects.
That latter department is important as the territory’s vast reserves of critical minerals like copper, nickel, zinc, manganese, and tungsten have attracted mining interest.
Zoom out: It’s surely no coincidence that, mere days after the announcement, Fireweed Metals began its feasibility study for a massive tungsten mine in the territory — Yukon is believed to have potentially the world’s largest undeveloped deposit of high-grade tungsten.
This study is paid for, in part, by the U.S. Department of Defense, which chipped in ~US$15.8 million under the Defense Production Act (tungsten has many military applications).
Why it matters: With the fate of Canada and the U.S.’s free trade deal uncertain ahead of its review later this year, critical mineral access is set to be a crucial bargaining chip to secure a favourable deal. If they want our tungsten for ammunition, they’ll need to play ball.
Last month, the U.S. and Mexico announced an action plan that will sync up their critical mineral supply chain policies; Canada has held back on any such pacts yet.
Yes, but: When it comes to the Yukon, underdeveloped infrastructure and energy shortages will still hinder developments, and fixes for these issues will certainly face pushback.—QH