Illegal mining trail 'a big deal,' says Yukon First Nation chief

A Whitehorse prospector and a Yukon drilling company are accused ofbuilding an illegal, bulldozed trailto some pending mining claimsnorth of Carmacks anda local First Nations chief is not impressed.

Nicolai Goeppel and Kluane Drilling are scheduled to appear in court in Carmacks on Wednesday,to each answer to fourseparate charges related to the trail.

They're accused of using a bulldozer to plow an unauthorized routethrough the bush near McGregor Creek,about 45 kilometres north of Carmacks.

"This is a big deal," said Little Salmon/Carmacks First Nationchief Eric Fairclough.

He says a local trapper discovered the trail in thesummer.

"Nobody knew about itthe Department [of] Energy, Mines and Resources didn't know anything about it, and we found it ... Things like this cannot happen in this day and age."

Fairclough estimates the unauthorized trail runs about 21 kilometres through the bush, and might have existed under the radar, if the trapper hadn't discovered it.

The prospector charged, Nicolai Goeppel,was denied permits earlier this year to develop claims near Judas Creek,southof Whitehorse.

Goeppel did not respond to CBC's calls.