Whitehorse will ask territory to extend mineral staking ban

The City of Whitehorse is asking the Yukon government to extend a moratorium on mineral staking within city limits.

The current ban, in place since 2012, expires in July.

Whitehorse administrationsaidthe purpose of the ban is to give the city time to gather public feedback whileitupdatesthe Official Community Plan (OCP).

Whitehorse city council voted in favour of extending the moratorium on Tuesday evening.CouncillorSamsonHartland, president of the Yukon Chamber of Mines,declared a conflict of interest and removed himself from the discussion and vote.

Mines 'helped build this town'

CouncillorRobFendricksaid he has some misgivings about asking for an extension tothe ban, considering Whitehorse's mining history, but he supported the request.

"I do find inconsistency with allowing anymore quartz staking until we have this planning process and understanding what it is the citizens want in our area."

The Yukon Chamber of Mines disputes the idea that mining can't co-exist with other industries inside urban areas.

"Given the history with the Whitehorse copper belt and the mines that have produced here in the past, the mines that actually helpedbuild this town having that land not available for staking and mineral exploration is not a good thing," said Mike Burke, executive director.

He said mining happens within municipal boundaries in other jurisdictions.

"There's many municipalities in Canada that have mining within their city limits. Of course it's not always an ideal situation but it can be done with proper planning."

The initial ban on staking in city limits followed city-wide consultations related to the 2010 OCP.Yukon's Mineral Resources Branch and Yukon Geological Survey, together with the city, devised the boundaries.

One of the stated reasons forthe moratorium was to protect recreation areas.