The Yukon government has signed a deal with the owner of the controversial Slinky Mine in Dawson City granting him extra time to finish mining and remediating the land.
Miner Darrell Carey originally signed a deal with the Yukon government in 2014 to surrender placer mining claims on the west side of the Dome Road in Dawson City by the end of 2017.
In exchange the government of the day paid $1.3 million to re-route the road.
The new contract now gives Carey until the end of August 2018 to wrap up his work.
Sue Thomas, a spokesperson for the Yukon Department of Energy Mines and Resources, said the deal was agreed to after Carey claimed construction delays on the roadwork meant he could not complete mining in time.
“The extension now ensures that all the terms of the original agreement are going to be met by Aug. 31 which includes the reclamation of the area,” Thomas said.
“So even though there’s an extension the goal is to get all of the terms of the original agreement completed.”
Under the new deal, signed May 17, some of Carey’s claims had to be abandoned by the end of May. Thomas said those deadlines have been met.
In the reclamation plan Carey has agreed to make the area suitable for vegetation again, backfill trenches and construct benches on slopes to prevent erosion.
Contact Ashley Joannou at ashleyj@yukon-news.com