Gladiator Metals drilling again at site of earlier permit violations outside Whitehorse

An exploration company that was fined two years ago for mining infractions at a copper exploration site near Whitehorse is again at work in the same area — and some local residents are not happy about it.

B.C.-based Gladiator Metals recently obtained a permit to do drilling work in the Whitehorse copper belt area, which includes Cowley Park, south of the city centre. The company's class 1 permit allows it to drill up to 50,000 metres over the next year at different sites. 

The company announced earlier this month that the work has already begun.

It comes after the company was fined $43,700 for exceeding the scope of an earlier exploration permit in the same area. The company pleaded guilty in 2023 to six charges under the territory's Quartz Mining Act and, along with the fine, was ordered to do remediation work to reverse damage from the infractions.

The company has also now applied for a class 3 exploration permit, which would allow it do further work over the next five years throughout its whole 35-kilometre Copper Belt project, most of which is within Whitehorse city limits. That application is still before Yukon's assessment board.

Glenys Baltimore, president of the Cowley Creek Community Association, said she and her neighbours are "very alarmed" by the company's plans and the proximity of its claims to some of the city's residential areas. 

Residents in the Cowley Creek neighbourhood, some of whom live within a kilometre of Gladiator's exploration site there, have in the past complained about the destruction of recreational trails, noise, and what one person called a "horrific mess" made by the company.

"It's very clear to us, and it would become clear to other neighbourhoods were they subjected to this, that industrial development right next to residential neighbourhoods which are already established is... it's just not viable," she said.

"Gladiator has claims all the way through the city, that are really close to residential subdivisions. And so we're just the tip of the iceberg."

She argues that Yukon's century-old Quartz Mining Act was drafted at a time when the territory's population was much smaller, and considerations were different for granting exploration licences. Those laws are no longer appropriate for dealing with projects near residential areas, she said.

Baltimore also said that Gladiator's fine in 2023 shows that the current legislation "isn't even able to adequately fine people" for violating permits. The $43,700 fine is "nothing" to a company like Gladiator, she said.

Baltimore is urging a moratorium on all mining and exploration until the territory's Quartz Mining Act is updated — something that's already underway.

'No clear answer' on mining in the city

Paul Inglis, with the Yukon government's mining department, acknowledged that it's "really difficult" operating under the current legislation, which he also describes as outdated.

"There's a lot of considerations that weren't even a thing back when the regulations and legislation were devised," he said.

"It's tough for sure. Like, I get it. And I think ... there's a real mix of views on this kind of work being so close to town. And there's no clear answer."

As for Gladiator's being granted a new Class 1 permit for the Cowley Creek site despite its earlier violations there, Inglis also pointed to the Quartz Mining Act.

"We don't have a process that allows us to easily consider that," he said.

Nevertheless, Inglis said, the company should not necessarily be further penalized for its earlier violations. He said Gladiator did everything it was ordered to do after pleading guilty to those infractions.

"Which is what you would always hope for, right? Is that a company can learn to be better," Inglis said.

"We set a very clear bar that they have to meet, and they've met that. So it's hard for us to then say, 'No, you can't have another authorization,' when they've done everything that was asked of them."

Gladiator Metals is hosting an open house on March 26 at the Meadow Lakes Golf Course in Whitehorse. The company says it will provide an update on its application for a Class 3 permit, as well as its plans for exploration in the McIntyre Creek area. 

CBC reached out to Gladiator Metals for comment. Gladiator Metals referred CBC to its news release about the project.