Dawson City, where the roads could be made with gold mine tailings

Anybody who's been to Dawson City, Yukon, has likely seen them large piles of placer mining waste rock, liningthe Klondike Highway and the back roads neartown.

Now the Yukon government wants to use some of those tailingsas a substitute for gravel, in things such as airport and highway maintenance and construction.

"We're looking at meeting gravel needs over the next 50 years," saidPaul Murchison, the director of transportation engineering with the Department of Highways and Public Works.

"We don't have many gravel reserves in this area, and this is an innovative solution."

The proposal is now before the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economicAssessment Board (YESAB). The YESABapplication says the mine tailings around Dawson are suitable for use as fill, and base material for crushing.

It also notes that placer miners have the right to extract gold ontheir claims, but the wastematerial and the ground where it's stockpiled belong to the public.

"There would be no money paid for the gravel, but it'd be up to the individual placer miners as to whether or not they'd like to work with us on this," Murchison said.

Money saver

The government argues that the plan could save a lot of money. Quarryinggravel and hauling it over long distances can be expensive, so it makes sense to instead use processed tailings close at hand, Murchison says.

He says local miners seem tolike the idea.

"It eliminates us competing with placer miners for gravel, because in the Dawson region,where there's gravelthere's often claims," Murchison said.

The government has not yet determined which tailings piles to use.

Murchison says the goal would be to use what's nearest to a specificproject. He also says the most visible tailings in Dawson the ones alongsidethe Klondike Highway, east of town would likely be off-limits.

"They're older pilesthere's some heritage values there," he said.