The Yukon government has given the go-ahead to a contentious mineral exploration project in Whitehorse.

B.C.-based Gladiator Metals has been granted a class 3 quartz exploration permit for a five-year term. The company is planning an exploration program on mineral claims both within and outside of Whitehorse city limits, to take place year-round. It will involve a drilling program, construction of new roads and trails, and clearing of some land.

The company has been drilling around the Whitehorse copper belt — a stretch of land west of the downtown which once hosted the Whitehorse Copper mine — since 2023. It’s looking for copper, silver and gold. 

The company’s new permit will allow it to expand work throughout its whole 35-kilometre project area, most of which is within Whitehorse city limits. Class 3 permits are for exploration projects which have a higher potential to cause adverse environmental impacts, according to the Yukon government.

At an information session in Whitehorse on Wednesday for local residents, Gladiator president Marcus Harden told attendees they won’t see much of a change in the work the company is doing. 

“The class 3 [permit] is actually, it’s not releasing us from our obligations or regulations. In fact, it’s quite the opposite,” Harden said. 

Last fall, the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board (YESAB) recommended that Gladiator be allowed to proceed with its class 3 exploration program, with conditions.

The project has been controversial, with more than 100 comments submitted as part of YESAB’s review, from various organizations, First Nations, businesses and city residents.

In its decision, the territorial government agreed with some of the conditions recommended by YESAB. It also changed some of YESAB’s recommended terms, and rejected a requirement for Gladiator to monitor private water wells of residents near the exploration area. The government says a water quality monitoring program is currently underway for the project work areas.

The government also added some conditions not included by YESAB, including that project activities cannot occur in some areas between Feb. 1 and April 15, in order to protect lichen habitat and thus reduce disturbance to caribou. 

John Thompson, spokesperson with the territory’s mines department, told CBC News in an email that when the government varies terms recommended by YESAB, it’s “done to ensure the terms are clear, enforceable, consistent with Yukon legislation and reflect the input from First Nations consultations.”

‘Long road’ before any mining happens, company says

Harden says Gladiator is set to begin work on the project on April 16. He said it plans to have three drill rigs out working over the season.

Harden emphasized that it’s just exploration work at this point, to determine whether there’s an “economically compelling” resource. 

“We’re not talking about going out there and mining as people would know in the next two, five, ten years. We’ve got a long road before that would be possible.” 

In its application to YESAB, Gladiator said that drilling will occur 800 metres or more from residential areas. The neighbourhoods of Cowley Creek and Mary Lake are the closest such areas to the project. 

Glenys Baltimore lives in Cowley Creek and is president of the local neighbourhood association. She has concerns about the project, including that Gladiator will be responsible for managing any complaints about the work. She compares that to asking “the fox to guard the hen house.” 

She also has larger concerns about the industry’s track record in the Yukon. She says the territory needs a new Quartz Mining Act, with more checks and balances in place.

Work has been underway for years to rewrite Yukon’s minerals legislation. Some of the territory’s mining laws are more than a century old. 

Gladiator’s plans are also receiving support from some local residents. 

Geologist Rick Zuran, who attended the company’s information session this week, said he feels positively about the project. 

“It would help the economy and the Yukon quite a bit on many different levels, with all kinds of suppliers and as well as the people that work for the company. So it would help Whitehorse a lot,” he said.