Assessment board recommends a yes for Gladiator Metals project in Whitehorse

Company is proposing 5-year drilling program on claims in and around Whitehorse

The Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board (YESAB) is recommending that a contentious mining exploration project in Whitehorse be given the green light, with a list of terms and conditions.

B.C.-based Gladiator Metals is proposing an exploration program on 159 mineral claims both within and outside of Whitehorse city limits, to take place year-round over five years. It will involve a drilling program, construction of new roads and trails, and clearing of some land.

The company has been drilling in the Whitehorse copper belt since April 2023. The YESAB application would allow the company to increase its permit from class 1 to class 3, which would allow it to expand work throughout its whole 35-kilometre Copper Belt project, most of which is within Whitehorse city limits.

Gladiator is proposing to use and maintain existing trails and roads to access work areas, such as the Copper Haul Road, McLean Lake Road and Mount Sima Road, and also build up to five kilometres of new road and 20 kilometres of new trails on its claims. Helicopters, planes or drones will not be used, and neither will residential neighbourhood roads to access the project area.

In a report posted online on Tuesday, YESAB says that Gladiator Metals’ project should be allowed to proceed, with 24 different terms and conditions. Those conditions focus on things such as wildlife reporting and groundwater monitoring, as well as when drilling can happen.

The project has been controversial, with more than 100 comments submitted to YESAB from various organizations, First Nations, businesses and city residents.

“This was definitely in a whole different realm,” said YESAB executive director Kent Bretzlaff, about the number of comments submitted compared to most other projects the board evaluates.

“That’s the beauty of YESAB — everyone in the territory and even outside the territory has the opportunity to be involved.”

Many comments from city residents urged the board to recommend against the project, saying it should not be allowed within city limits, close to residential properties. They cited concerns about potential impacts to fish and wildlife, local trails, and groundwater.

“I think definitely the geographical location of this project brought a lot of the public from around Whitehorse into the mix,” said Bretzlaff.

Laura Cabott, the city’s former mayor who lives in the Cowley Creek area, wrote to the board that while she supports sustainable development in the city, she’s also “very concerned that many of the activities that are proposed in this particular project can not be sufficiently mitigated and are irreparable.”

Others pointed to the company’s checkered history of working in Whitehorse. In 2023, Gladiator pleaded guilty to six charges under the Yukon’s Quartz Mining Act, admitting to several violations of its operating permit in the Cowley Creek area.

Some comments to YESAB were in favour of the project, citing the need for economic development in the city. Geologist Tyrell Sutherland also told the board in a written submission that the project’s location in and near Whitehorse “provides a rare and powerful advantage.”

“Rather than relying on distant narratives or corporate messaging, the people of Whitehorse can see for themselves whether the work is being carried out responsibly and in line with local expectations,” he wrote.

Local First Nations also weighed in, with Kwanlin Dün First Nation making several specific recommendations for environmental mitigation, such as halting work whenever caribou pass within one kilometre of a work area. The Ta’an Kwäch’än Council urged more distance between mining activities and headwaters in Chasàn Chùa. The Carcross/Tagish First Nation said in its submission that the project should not be approved.

Wildlife logs, complaint management, and avoiding ski trails

YESAB’s recommended terms and conditions would require Gladiator to keep wildlife logs and share those annually with the three affected First Nations. They would also limit work between October and April in some areas in the winter range of woodland caribou.

Other terms and conditions would require regular reporting of monitoring results and upcoming work plans and reclamation plans, and for those to be available to the public.

YESAB says Gladiator should also be required to maintain a complaint management system, and install large signs in some areas detailing how people can submit formal complaints or concerns about the project.

Gladiator should also stop work in certain areas near the Mount MacIntyre cross country ski trails during the ski season, YESAB says, and work with the Whitehorse Nordic Ski Society to avoid disrupting the trail system.

Results of a groundwater monitoring program should also be made available, YESAB says. Gladiator should also monitor any private wells annually for anyone who requests it.

Speaking to CBC News, Bretzlaff acknowledged that it’s rare for the board to make recommendations about monitoring private wells.