Lazulite
Photo courtesy of Yukon Mining Advisory Board
The Yukon Mining Advisory Board represents industry and industry groups, including "the Yukon Chamber of Mines, the Prospectors' Association, the Klondike Placer Miners' Association and then a couple of us from industry, both small and large," explained Board director Harlan Meade, a junior company representative. Meade is President and CEO of Yukon Zinc Corporation and Pacifica Resources Ltd., which have extensive Yukon mineral holdings. "We are seen as having a long–term interest in the Yukon and reasonably reflecting the interest of other junior companies," said Meade.
Initially, the Board's goal was to provide feedback to Yukon's Minister of Energy Mines and Resources, "to try and identify those things that government needs to do to make mining more attractive in the Yukon, and increase the amount of money spent in the Yukon," said Meade. "At that time, the Yukon was experiencing all time record low levels of expenditures," he said. "It was pretty obvious to government that with those expenditures we would not be able to sustain the mining industry in the Yukon.The new mines would be few and far between. That was a main concern."
The Board has already made important progress. "I think the big breakthrough to make the Board more effective and more visible was that last year we produced what I call our first ‘report card of government' that identified issues that were an impediment to growing the mining industry in the Yukon. There were at least a dozen different points," said Meade. "It identified the problem; it suggested solutions of what needed to be done."
The report card, modelled after the Alaska Mining Association's annual report, is "very, very independent of government," said Meade. "It's saying, here's a problem that we've been told that government needs to address. Here's the cause. What are we going to do about it? It is intended to be an actionable document."
Because the "report card" is recorded in the legislature, it becomes a public document. That, says Meade, makes it highly visible. As well, it provides concrete guidance to and a yardstick for government – "a way to show the industry that they've made progress on important issues," said Meade. "Now that government needs to be seen to be doing the right thing, this is a way of making those actions visible."
One visible result is the First Nations prospectors' course instituted by the Yukon government. "Together with the Yukon Chamber of Mines, there was a push to develop a training program in the area of geology and exploration for First Nations participants," said Meade. "There were about 22 graduates." One of Meade's companies hired two of those graduates. "They turned out to be a real win for us and them," he said. "They did a great job for us. One of them has gone on to school to be a geologist. So we had an impact." The Board's second report card is currently being prepared.
To date, stakeholder communities have not had direct input into the report card because the Yukon Environmental and Socioeconomic Assessment Board (YESA) looks after those interests although the Board has provided recommendations, "We commented on YESA," said Meade, "what it needs to do, and the regulatory framework. The Board particularly made a point of the need to get First Nations communities very much involved in our industry through direct participation through training and employment, capacity–building and issues like that," he said. "Last year at the insistence of the Board, the first of what should be many industry–First Nations conferences was held, encouraging understanding of our industry and participation by First Nations in our industry." A second conference took place in the fall of 2004.
"Each year our effectiveness and our use to government and our industry have improved," said Meade. "It has evolved into something that is much more valuable to government and industry. The whole concept of the Board and the fact that people are now putting significant energy into the Board's activities reflects a very strong will to see mining succeed in the Yukon and an environment where we can grow industry in the Yukon," he said. "It also reflects that we have been well received by government. Some of the more increased enthusiasm for the Yukon Advisory Board is simply because its devolution has given the Yukon much more control over resource development in the future. With that, it's made it easier for government and industry to work together."
The Board expects to see its role and goals continue to evolve, "as we gain more credibility with government as being balanced, but being very objective and realistic – not pulling any punches – saying it the way we see it is," said Meade. "In our business there are times when you can achieve very little because the market isn't paying attention, but there are times when you can do things that are quite important. We are in one of those periods."
Board participants sit on one or more committees. Among others, Meade has served on taxation issue, flow–through share investment, mining and reclamation committees. Most recently, he served on the new infrastructure economic development committee. The Board is chaired by Clynt Nauman (crnauman@attglobal.net.) For more information about the Yukon Mining Advisory Board, visit www.emr.gov.yk.ca/mining.