A new proposal to send power from B.C.’s Site C dam to remote Yukon mines is baffling on both environmental and financial grounds, according to Yukon mining analyst Lewis Rifkind.

Rifkind, a civil engineer who works for the Yukon Conservation Society in Whitehorse, said beyond environmental concerns associated with the mines, the “lunatic” cost of building more than a thousand kilometres of transmission lines for short-term projects makes the prospect nonsensical.

The idea was floated this week by Yukon energy and mines minister Ranj Pillai, who said that proposed new Yukon mines will require additional power sources and that the Site C dam could provide that energy with a $1.5 billion to $2 billion investment in transmission lines.

The catch, explained Rifkind, is that taxpayers would end up footing the bulk of the bill for transmission lines to far-flung mines that might only operate for a few years.

“We’re privatizing the profits and socializing the risk. Mines go bankrupt and the owners skedaddle. And then we have to tidy up the mess.”

Rifkind pointed to the Wolverine mine as an example of the short lifespan of territory mines. That mine — a zinc operation in the Yukon’s southeast — was supposed to be in operation for 10 years after it opened in 2012 but shut down after just three.

And it will cost taxpayers more than $500 million to clean up leaching waste rock and tailings at the Yukon’s abandoned lead-zinc Faro mine, whose toxic waste covers the equivalent of more than 26,000 football fields and lies one metre deep, according to the federal government.

“Since when do we invest massive amounts of public money without having an idea of what it’s going to be for and who will actually be able to use it, and how?”https://t.co/IsRZntA6Jz

— DeSmog Canada (@DeSmogCanada) January 26, 2018

Northern mining boom in the works  

The Yukon is poised for a mining boom, with a half dozen new copper, gold, and silver mines in various stages of permitting, environmental assessments and early construction. The territory currently has only one operational hard rock mine.

The new mines intend to burn fossil fuels like natural gas for power, which Rifkind said is “not necessarily a bad thing” given other considerations such as the “awful” lifespan of Yukon mines, the profound environmental damage caused by Site C, and the greenhouse gas emissions emitted during dam construction and from dam reservoirs.

“Even if they were to build a small local hydro dam we’d be flooding a river and a lot of the rivers are salmon habitat…and usually those dams are built at taxpayers’ expense. Why should we destroy our environment, why should we use our taxpayers dollars to subsidize something that’s probably only going to last for three years?”

Even if the mines operate for 10 years, Rifkind said it is “a crazy idea” to spend billions of dollars to connect them to Site C’s power. “That doesn’t even address the cost of building Site C and the huge environmental harm it’s doing.”

“The [mines] are hundreds of kilometers from the existing hydro grid in the Yukon, never mind the hook-up to B.C. It’s not just a matter of running lines from Site C to the Yukon border. You’ve then got to do another 400 kilometres to get to the Yukon grid. And then some of those mines are another 150 kilometres or 200 kilometers off the grid.”

What’s the story with all those new Yukon mines?

Planned Yukon mines that could use Site C’s energy under Pillai’s scheme include:

• The Casino copper and silver mine proposed by Vancouver-based Western Copper and Gold Corp. on a stream called Canadian Creek that drains into the Yukon River. The earthen dam for Casino’s tailings pond would stretch 285 metres in height and hold eight times the volume of the Mount Polley tailings pond, whose failed dam was 40 metres high. Road access to Casino would be through the range of the Klaza caribou herd.
• The Coffee gold mine planned by Vancouver-based Goldcorp Inc., one of the world’s largest gold producers. Coffee would be an open pit and heap leach mine on the Yukon River, 130 kilometres south of Dawson, operational for 10 years. Last July, the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board halted its review of the project, saying that Goldcorp did not adequately consult with the Tr’ondek Hwëch’in, Selkirk, and Na-Cho Nyak Dun First Nations, which would be affected by the mine.
• The Selwyn lead-zinc mine in eastern Yukon, proposed by the Chinese-owned mining company Selwyn Chihong. The mine would be accessed through the Northwest Territories, along a road that runs through parts of the Nááts’ihch’oh and Nahanni national park reserves. Trucks carrying lead and zinc concentrates would travel to port facilities in Stewart, B.C.

Rifkind said only one of the planned mines — Victoria Gold Corp’s proposed open pit Eagle Gold Mine in the Dublin Gulch watershed, 350 kilometres north of Whitehorse — is anywhere near the grid.

Victoria Gold Corp. has already said it will pay for a 35-kilometre transmission line to connect to the existing Yukon grid, which gets more than 90 per cent of its power from a single Whitehorse dam.

ICYMI: That Time Trudeau Announced $360 Million for Roads to Yukon Mines That Haven’t Been Approved Yet

Ugo Lapointe, national program coordinator for MiningWatch Canada, said he finds it “sad and disconcerting” that B.C. went through such a harsh debate over the $10.7 billion Site C dam and decided to sacrifice a valley potentially to send power to new Yukon mines.

He said the mines will “come and go” and that he is troubled by the idea that Site C’s electricity could go to Alberta’s oilsands operations or to speculative mines in the Yukon.

“Since when do we invest massive amounts of public money without having an idea of what it’s going to be for and who will actually be able to use it, and how?”

Can wind and solar help reduce carbon emissions for mines?

Both Lapointe and Rifkind said there are far more environmentally sound ways to help meet power needs for new northern mines while reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.

Lapointe pointed to the Raglan Mine, a large nickel complex in Quebec’s Nunavik region that installed wind turbines and a small energy storage facility in 2014. In the first two years of operation, the mining company saved 4.5 million litres of diesel and avoided 12,600 tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Rifkind said new Yukon mines can install solar arrays and small wind turbines to meet some of their energy needs, reducing fossil fuel reliance. Once the mines close, he said the renewable energy infrastructure could be moved to a Yukon community as a legacy from the mining project.

How much would it cost to ship Site C’s power to Yukon mines?

A 2016 report found that constructing a 763-kilometre transmission line from Iskut, B.C. to Whitehorse — either to import or export energy — was not economical. The cost of the line was pegged at $1.7 billion at the time.

In an emailed statement to DeSmog Canada, B.C.’s Ministry of Energy and Mines said no formal discussions have taken place between the B.C. and Yukon governments and “it’s too early to comment on any possible transmission intertie between the two jurisdictions.”

BC Hydro is interested in serving new customers provided that it is economic to do so, but studies would have to be done before deciding on possible transmission line routes and the price of energy “would be subject to negotiations,” the energy ministry said in the statement.

Industry Canada confirmed to DeSmog Canada that a transmission line from B.C. to the Yukon would qualify for funding from Canada’s new Infrastructure Bank.

New funding agreements are currently being negotiated with the provinces, and a transmission line to the Yukon or Alberta would also be eligible for green infrastructure funding.

Rifkind said it would be “insane” to use taxpayers’ dollars to pay for transmission lines to send Site C’s power to the Yukon, in part because of significant power losses when electricity travels long distances.

About five per cent of power is lost through long-distance transmission in B.C., and another five per cent through local transmission, meaning that at least 10 per cent of the power that would be shipped from Site C to the Yukon would be lost.

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In early September, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced more than $360 million in funding for roads to service mining operations in two remote regions of the Yukon.

There’s just one catch: most of those mines haven’t even been approved yet.  

Some worry the influx of investment — $247 million from the federal government and $112 million from the territory — handcuffs the region to mining development that hasn’t been demonstrated to serve the community’s long-term interests.

Don Reid, conservation zoologist for the Wildlife Conservation Society of Canada, said the timing of the announcement is problematic and calls the objectivity of the mine review process into question.

"By having invested in these existing roads, the Yukon territorial government would in the future be loathe to refuse ongoing development of…new mines that these infrastructure dollars were specifically earmarked to help,” Reid told DeSmog Canada.

“They have biased their supposed neutrality in having the final say on future environmental impact assessments."

The funding, secured under the New Building Canada Fund, will foster the Yukon Resource Gateway Project, something Trudeau promised will “help create good, middle class jobs, promote long-term economic prosperity, and support a strong, sustainable North.”

The Yukon Resources Gateway Project, described as providing upgrades to 650 kilometres of existing roads, bridges and culverts, is aimed at facilitating year-round access to the potential mines and other undeveloped mineral deposits.

“Modern infrastructure is key to developing and properly managing the incredible natural resources we have at our fingertips," Trudeau said.

The resources Trudeau is refering to include the proposed Selwyn-Chihong lead-zinc mine and Golden Predator's 3 Aces gold mine in the Nahanni range near the border with the Northwest Territories.

In the Dawson range south-east of Dawson City, they include the Goldcorp Coffee gold mine, the gold, copper, molybdenum and silver Casino mine and Copper North’s Carmacks Copper mine.

Proposed Mines Include World's Largest Tailings Dam

The projects are all in various stages of review with the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board (YESAB). Goldcorp’s application for the Coffee gold mine in particular was suspended this past July, for failing to adequately consult with affected First Nations.

Local First Nations and conservation groups alike have doubts about the claimed benefits of road construction, and see significant threats to the local landscape and wildlife from development of both the roads and mines.

Of major concern to the Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation is the potential extension and upgrade of a road in the nation’s traditional territory, chief Russell Blackjack told DeSmog Canada.

“Our members have serious concerns with both the extension of the Freegold Road into un-roaded territory, and with the proposed Casino Mine the road might serve,” Blackjack said.

The Casino Mine, currently facing the territory’s most stringent level of review, would be the largest mine in the Yukon’s history and contribute more annual greenhouse gasses than all of the Yukon.

The 22-year project would also entail the construction of the world’s largest wet tailings dam — which, at 286m, would become the highest structure in Canada west of Toronto — using the same technology employed by the Mount Polley mine which suffered a massive dam failure in 2014.

The Casino Mining Corporation is required to submit the Environmental and Socio-economic Statement component of its project proposal to the Yukon assessment board by December 31, 2017.

“We may decide to oppose the project,” Blackjack said.

Freegold road. Photo: Matt Jacques for DeSmog Canada.

Freegold road. Photo: Matt Jacques for DeSmog Canada.

Roads Further Fragment Wildlife Habitat

Reid said increased road access in both the Dawson and Nahanni ranges is of particular concern for mountain caribou — both the Forty-mile and Nahanni herds — moose, wolverine and grizzly bear.

“These will be affected primarily because increased and improved access will result in increased hunting pressure and reduced use of some key habitats by these animals as they try to avoid the disturbances caused by the roads."

The Klaza caribou herd’s range sits squarely in the Dawson range, and seems positioned to experience a significant impact from any increase in human activity in the area as well.

Lewis Rifkind, Mining Analyst for the Yukon Conservation Society, said environmental impacts and habitat fragmentation are big concerns in both areas.

“Because once the roads go in, you can kiss a lot of [habitat] goodbye,” Rifkind said.

“The caribou don’t necessarily avoid the roads but they won’t linger because they can be easily predated. It’s a ‘wolf highway’ effect, where wolves and human hunters can see for miles and travel quickly.”

Blackjack said beyond caribou and moose concerns in his nation’s traditional territory, many of the region’s waterways are salmon bearing.

“There are a lot of creeks that they have to bridge across. Once they open the roadway there’s the potential of six mines opening up, and it will provide easy access to placer miners too. As it is, that place is just staked right out (for placer mining).”

Roads for Resources Developers, But Taxpayers Bear Cost

Beyond the potential impacts on wildlife, there is the lingering question of who ought to pay for the development and upkeep of the roads.

While federal investment in infrastructure is far from new to the north, Rifkind said the new funding announcement is different.

“This is not for Yukoners, these are resource roads,” he said. “While the proposed routes are not cast in stone, none of the roads lead to communities.”

“Taxpayers are basically funding to upgrade these roads for companies,” Rifkind said, noting one of the companies, Selwyn Chihong, is a Chinese State-Owned Enterprise.

In September Yukon premier Sandy Silver posed with a one million dollar gold bar recovered from the exploration phase of the 3 Aces project.

“If they’re so profitable that just at the exploration phase they can produce a million dollar gold bar, are taxpayer dollars required to upgrade a road that by and large only they are using?” Rifkind said.

Chris Rider, Executive Director of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society’s Yukon chapter, said the mining projects come at a time when the conservation of development-free, roadless spaces is of increasing importance.

“We’re talking about valuing a handful of mining projects over our wild spaces at a time when wilderness is disappearing at alarming rates around the world,” Rider told DeSmog Canada.  

The benefits from these projects to the territory are short-lived, especially given the current mining royalty regime, Rider said, adding communities are often left with scarred landscapes and non-public road infrastructure which the public is left to maintain.

“Imagine instead if we had taken those funds and dedicated them to an innovation fund to invest in sustainable entrepreneurship across the territory — twenty years down the road we would have been so much further ahead environmentally and economically.”

Even if both the roads and mines go ahead as planned, the socio-economic impacts on affected communities may not be what they were intended.

Chief Blackjack said the mines could lead to massive population growth.

“I don’t think we have the sustainable resources in the community to hold a big population boom like that,” he said.

There is no official timeline for consultation and review of the Yukon Resource Gateway Project, but Blackjack said that process should only proceed with both the Yukon government and First Nations negotiating.

“We have a letter from the Premier stating that the project components in First Nations traditional territory will not proceed in the absence of project agreements with those First Nations,” Blackjack said.

“So we take that as word from the Yukon government to uphold our end of negotiations in a trusting manner.”’

That Time Trudeau Announced $360 Million for Roads to #Yukon Mines That Haven't Been Approved Yet https://t.co/2rgb95zIa6 @YukonConservati

— DeSmog Canada (@DeSmogCanada) October 12, 2017

Image: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Yukon Premier Sandy Silver. Photo: Prime Minister's Photo Gallery

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