Regulatory "overkill" surrounding mine remediation can guarantee two things: a mine is absolutely going to get remediated and, in the last few decades, no new gold mines have come on stream in the NWT, pointed out Dave Webb, president and CEO of 60 North Gold Mining.
And that's despite gold climbing to more than $2,750 an ounce recently and Yellowknife having a long history of producing the precious metal.
"You calculate how much it costs to remediate your property before you even start mining and you give that to the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board. They take 100 per cent of the costs to reclaim the property. That's not an inconsequential amount of cash," said Webb.
On Oct. 28, Webb said he had given up to a $1 million to the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board.
He also said that the proposed territorial Mineral Resources Act is trying to change legislation so the GNWT would take 100 per cent of the costs to reclaim a property instead.
"Financial securities are money that is required to be provided by the company ahead of time to cover clean-up costs in case the company goes out of business," the act reads. "If an owner/operator abandons a site or goes bankrupt, cleaning up the site may become the responsibility of the government that administers the land."
Karen Costello, executive director with the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines, explained that since the NWT legislative assembly introduced the Mineral Resources Act, the GNWT has been trying to develop its regulations.
"It's part of those regulations. They are looking to include sections that deal with the reclamation funds, which companies that have advanced a project to a certain level are required to provide," said Costello.
She added that the chamber is engaged with its members in reviewing these potential policies and draft regulations, which are expected to be finalized in 2025.
"We'll be providing the thoughts and opinions of our members to [the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment] in the coming weeks," Costello said on Oct. 30.
For now, what she could say is that the chamber understands and respects the need for regulations. But to Webb's point, there is a risk of getting too prescriptive, she said.
"You duplicate what's already [existing] with other pieces of legislation or you're getting too, quite frankly, caught up in the details and not as much focused on the outcome you're looking to achieve."
There is plenty of gold buried around Yellowknife, said Webb. 60 North Gold Mining does all of its fieldwork 45 km north of Yellowknife at the Mon gold site. It isn't alone in its interest in the precious metal. Gold Terra, a Canadian mineral exploration company, is also looking to see if it can reopen the Con mine.
But whether any gold gets mined is still up in the air.
"It's a big step to go from 'we got some gold, now let's start producing it,'" said Webb. "To get through that regulatory framework, it's very different now than it was 90 years ago."
Webb acknowledged that some added regulations that have come with mining gold, like understanding its impact on the environment and whose land a company will be mining, have been positive additions. But they've come at a price SA国际影视传媒� namely, it takes considerable time, he said.
"We do need mines, and when there were absolutely no controls we did a bad job of it," said Webb, liking those eras to when there were no controls on agriculture and a lack of labour laws.
"If you want no mines, then you can just say, We don't want any waste disposed," said Webb. "And that's a great way, perhaps, some mines can operate, but not too many that I'm aware of."
To get Yellowknife to become a gold producer again, informing the public is key, according to Webb.
He spoke of Giant Mine's historical roasting methods to extract gold from rock, which would release arsenic and, although effective, the process had a "horrible" impact on the environment, Webb admitted.
He also mentioned Con Mine, which didn't involve any roasting in its efforts, although there was still arsenic in the ores.
"When I've been permitting mines, like the Mon mine, the first question I'm asked is, 'Is there arsenic in it?' And that's like going into a farmer's field and going 'Oh, you're going to harvest wheat, is there grass in it?' Well, of course there's grass, there's grass everywhere," said Webb.
He also noted that mines are finite projects, all of which will shut down at some point. But for now, they employ generations-worth of Northerners.
He stressed that people's kids and grandchildren, who have been working high-paying jobs at mines and are accustomed to certain incomes, will go elsewhere for work.
"Those guys down in oil sands are looking for exactly what you have," said Webb. "For Yellowknife, for Dettah, for the communities, if your children and your grandchildren leave, your community will die."
