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Mactung mine gets go ahead

After nearly six years, the Mactung mine project has made it through the environmental and socioeconomic assessment process.

After nearly six years, the Mactung mine project has made it through the environmental and socioeconomic assessment process.

North American Tungsten’s proposed tungsten mine is located along the Canol Road near the N.W.T. border.

The company currently operates the nearby Cantung mine.

The Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board issued its final recommendations on the Mactung project in March.

But the Yukon government then sent the board back to the drawing board, arguing that it had not done enough to satisfy the concerns of the Liard First Nation and the First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun.

The “screening report appears to focus exclusively - or almost so - on the potential effects of the project on (the Ross River Dena Council),” according to Yukon’s decision.

Updated recommendations from the board were released in July.

Now the Yukon government has accepted those recommendations, with some small changes, in its latest decision document.

The project must still receive its mining and water licences before moving into construction.

Capital costs for the mine are estimated at about $400 million, according to the company’s website.

The mine is forecast to operate at a rate of 2,000 tonnes per day for 11 years of underground operations, with potential for an additional 17 years with the addition of an open pit.