Work is scheduled to begin over the summer at the site of the former Clinton Creek asbestos mine, about 65 kilometres northwest of Dawson City, Yukon. 

At a presentation for residents at the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in community hall in Yukon’s Dawson City, Crown-Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, a federal government department, detailed the tentative steps to be taken over the next three years at the site.

Ryan Martin, an engineering manager with the department, said the main focus is on the Clinton Creek Channel and Hudgeon Lake. Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation has been in consultation with the department for work on the site. 

The Clinton Creek asbestos mine was active from 1968 to 1978, before being closed and abandoned. The federal department assumed responsibility for care and maintenance of the site from the Yukon Government in 2025. It’s located on the traditional territory of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation, and near another culturally-significant townsite named Forty Mile. 

The list of work at the site includes mining and hauling of material from the Kilometer 63 quarry, upgrading 1.4 kilometres of the Clinton Creek channel and lowering Hudgeon Lake’s water level by 4.25 metres.

Channel upgrades 

Material from the Kilometer 63 quarry is to be tested, starting this month, to ensure it is safe to use for the project, Martin said. 

Once confirmed, more mining and hauling of the material is to be done from June to October when the George Black Ferry closes for the season, he added. The bridge at Forty Mile is also scheduled to be upgraded in June.

Martin says the team wants to address some of the failing drop structures in the channel, which were used to divert water around waste rock slopes that collapsed in the 1970s — an event that pushed Clinton Creek to the edge of the valley, creating Hudgeon Lake. 

“So there’s a bit of a geotechnical and hydro-technical risk associated with that condition. It’s not a water quality concern, but more of a risk of major flooding event that might be beyond the capacity of the existing channel spillway.”

The improvements, he said, will help increase water flow capacity, improve stability of the waste rock and the channel in the long term, and support fish passage in the creek by reducing the gradient. 

Lowering of Hudgeon Lake

Martin said Hudgeon Lake is planned to be lowered by 4.25 meters. 

The primary concern for the area is a surge of water from spring freshet, heavy rain, or an earthquake, sending a torrent of water through to the lake and possibly breaching the dam. 

Lowering the lake reduces risk of flooding, and achieves a stream gradient that supports fish passage, he added. 

Future remediation goals 

Alice McCulley, the director of natural resources at Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation, said they will continue to work with the federal department to determine the overall reclamation goals for the site until its final closure.

Beyond environmental and safety concerns, McCulley said the First Nation wants to make sure citizens see economic benefit from any construction and maintenance activities on the site. 

“I think it is just really important that the area is safe enough for citizens to return and rebuild those connections, which just can include spending time out on the land, potentially harvesting and just getting to re-know the area again,” she said.