Yukon hardrock mining, development and exploration overview 2024

The Yukon hardrock mineral exploration sector continued to thrive in 2024 with the release of exciting results and the announcement of seven new mineral resources. Although there were many successes in the Yukon’s exploration industry this past year, they were not immune to the negative impact of the heap leach pad failure that occurred on June 24, 2024, at Victoria Gold Corp.’s Eagle Gold Mine. At the time of writing, the Yukon Geological Survey (YGS) estimates exploration expenditures in the Yukon to be $145M for the year, based on company press releases, System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) postings, and conversations with industry clients. This estimate of the exploration expenditure is down 9% from $160M in 2023. Development expenditures for 2024 are estimated to be $40M, down from $84M in 2023. The decrease in exploration expenditures in 2024 compared with 2023 can be attributed to the heap leach pad failure at the Eagle Gold Mine, which impacted exploration programs across the Yukon. This led some companies to temporarily pause or completely halt their program for the remainder of the 2024 exploration season. The halt in exploration programs was, in part, a response to the demands voiced by some First Nations, such as the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun, who called for an immediate halt to all mining and exploration activity in their Traditional Territory (First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun, 2024). The Government of Yukon responded stating that the territory cannot halt all existing, permitted mineral development activities, as mining and exploration companies are protected under the federal and territorial legislation and the Umbrella Final Agreement (Government of Yukon, 2024b).

Mineral production is estimated to be at least $190M (approximately 57.5% attributed to silver production and 42.5% attributed to gold production), down from $513M in 2023. Mineral production was low in 2024 due to the current closure of the Eagle Gold Mine, which was one of the two active hardrock mines in the Yukon. However, production revenue at Keno Hill Mine remains high due to precious metal prices reaching an all-time high and remaining strong in 2024.

As of November 30, 2024, there were 84 active exploration projects in the Yukon, which is comparable to the number of projects in 2022 and 2023; 29 of these were partially funded through the Yukon Mineral Exploration Program (YMEP). In 2017, the Yukon began to experience a decline in the number of active exploration projects along with fewer active companies and individual prospectors, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, those numbers have stabilized since 2022. In 2024, the majority (approximately 70%) of active exploration projects occurred within the Traditional Territories of the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun(29 projects; 30%), Kaska Dena Nations (17 projects; 18%), Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation (11 projects; 11%) and the Selkirk First Nation (10 projects; 10%; Fig. 5). Similarly, the highest-combined expenditures across the First Nations’ Traditional Territories were approximately $132M for the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun, $51.5M for the Kaska Dena Nations, $13.0M for Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation, and $11.3M for Selkirk First Nation.

Organization: Government of Yukon | Gouvernement du Yukon