The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Yukon assent opens door for long-awaited mine development North of 60 Mining News – March 11, 2022
The aurora borealis lights up the night sky over Newmont's Coffee Gold mine project in Yukon's White Gold District.
The Yukon River flows by the camp that served as headquarters for the exploration of the Coffee Gold project.
The Yukon government and First Nations have given Newmont Corp. the green light to move ahead with development of a mine at its Coffee Gold project.
Located in the heart of Yukon's White Gold District, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) south of Dawson City, Coffee is one of the earliest gold discoveries made by renowned prospector Shawn Ryan.
Kaminak Gold Corp. advanced Ryan's grassroots discovery to a 2-million-ounce gold deposit that attracted the attention of Goldcorp, which paid $520 million to buy out the junior explorer. Newmont came into possession of the Yukon gold mine project through its 2019 acquisition of Goldcorp.
A 2016 feasibility study detailed plans for an open-pit, heap-leach gold operation at Coffee capable of producing 184,000 oz of gold annually over an initial 10 years of mining.
Wanting to carry out additional exploration, confirm the permitting, and enhance the overall understanding of its inherited Yukon gold asset, Newmont regressed Coffee to the prefeasibility stage.
The joint decision by the Yukon government and First Nations, which concludes the environmental and socio-economic assessment of the project under the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Act (YESSA), opens the door for Newmont to begin developing the mine and supporting infrastructure at Coffee.
Prior to issuing the decision on the Coffee Mine, the Yukon government consulted with Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in Government, Selkirk First Nation, White River First Nation and the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun.
"We are very pleased to reach a decision that will allow the Coffee Gold project to move forward," said Yukon Premier Sandy Silver. "This is another example of the effectiveness of the Yukon's environmental and social-economic assessment process that continues to uphold responsible development in the territory."
In addition to the development on the Coffee Gold property, Newmont's plan includes a 214-kilometer (133 miles) road that connects the proposed mine to Yukon's highways. This road into the heart of the White Gold District will include barge crossings at the Stewart and Yukon rivers.
It is expected to take 30 months to complete the construction of the mine and infrastructure.
The territorial government says the project will include a camp for up to 400 workers and is expected to employ nearly 700 Yukoners during the peak of construction.
"The Coffee Gold project will provide significant employment opportunities for many Yukoners and contribute to the territory's growing economy," Silver said. "Through our ongoing engagement with Yukon First Nations and our collaboration with the Government of Canada, we look forward to supporting the next stages in the development of the Coffee Gold project."
Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.
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