Whitehorse:  Klondike MLA Sandy Silver used the week leading up to the 2012 Yukon Geoscience Forum to highlight several concerns the mining industry has raised with the Government of Yukon.  The Yukon Mineral Advisory Board (YMAB) provides the government with a list of priorities each year. 

"The board has raised a number of concerns that it believes are holding the mining industry back in the Yukon and I share many of their worries,” said Silver.  “This government has been coasting on high mineral prices and the hard work of exploration companies for the last number of years and it is time to address some tough questions being raised by the industry itself.”

Topping the list of concerns is the ‘cumbersome’ regulatory process the Government of Yukon has in place.

“No progress at all has been made on clarifying the jurisdiction of our various regulatory agencies since the 2010 rejection of the Carmacks Copper project,” said Silver.  “Industry also continues to raise alarm bells about timelines for advancing projects through regulatory phases of permitting.”

YMAB also raised concerns about the instability of our current power grid and how the government is preparing to meet future electrical demands.

“It’s clear the government is not prepared for the increasing demands that are on the horizon and this is another reminder that more needs to be done,” said Silver.  “In the long term we need to focus on pursuing options to connect our grid to B.C. and/or Alaska.”

The board also emphasized the importance of a skilled local workforce to ensure the benefits of the industry remain in Yukon.

“The Premier himself identified this as an issue in the Wall Street Journal when he admitted a great deal of the wages in our mining industry is going to fly-in, fly-out workers,” he said.  “The challenge is to train Yukoners to ensure the benefits remain in Yukon.”     

Silver will be a guest speaker at the upcoming Geoscience Forum.

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For additional information contact: 

Jason Cunning 667-8942