Work on Skagway’s ore dock has begun. As part of it, the Yukon government is considering funding a marine services platform. Some Yukoners are questioning the large expense.
It’s been busy at the Skagway ore dock lately. Borough Manager Brad Ryan says crews have been working on bringing materials and staging the worksite.
Ryan: “If you go down there you’ll see lots of barges, whole lots of cranes, a lot of equipment down there, a bunch of piling on site, we’ve rerouted the fuel headers to the broadway dock for temporary fueling throughout the construction project.
Ryan says subcontractors have pulled a wooden section of dock out, cut off some of the concrete, and sheared off some pilings. Crews are preparing to tear down the old loader that was used to transfer ore from the Yukon onto barges for decades.
Skagway leaders are discussing the possibility of Canadian investment that would enable those transfers to continue. The Yukon government is currently considering investing over $30M in a new marine services platform. The platform would be the basis for future ore transfer facilities.
The $30 million proposal is significantly more than the $17M discussed last spring. Some Yukon government representatives are questioning the expense. One representative linked cuts in funding for housing, highways, public works, and community services to the increase in cost of the marine services platform. An article in the Whitehorse Daily Star quotes Kate White, the leader of the minority Yukon New Democratic Party as saying: “There is no pretending that those cuts are not financing this government’s new project.”
Lewis Rifkind is a mining analyst with the Yukon Conservation Society in Whitehorse. He says some taxpayers are concerned by the size of the investment.
Rifkind: “It’s a lot of money by Yukon standards. We are a small population, we got 40, 45 thousand people, and there seems to be a bit of a perception that we are spending on something that maybe the mining companies would be paying for. Why should taxpayer dollars be spent on this?”
Rifkind says he supports the recently passed ordinance mandating the use of sealed containers for ore shipments through Skagway. This system is expected to generate a lot less pollution. But Rifkind wonders if the Yukon government should foot the bill of infrastructure. He says this amounts to subsidizing the industry.
Rifkind: “If the mining companies can’t afford to pay for their own ore dock, maybe they shouldn’t be in business, because if they are that stretched financially, it does raise concerns about how they would operate in the Yukon. Would they have enough money to put aside for an environmental emergency? Would they have enough money to put aside to ensure that their mining sites are closed and remediated properly.”
Rifkind adds that there are currently no large mines operating in the Yukon that would require an ore dock. But some are in the planning stages.
The Whitehorse Daily Star article quotes Yukon Premier Ranj Pillai as saying: “People are looking to invest in the mineral sector and they want to know that if they find something , it potentially can become a mine, and then whatever is in that critical mineral can be exported.”
Skagway Manager Ryan and a representative for the Yukon Department of Economic Development both said the funding is still being negotiated, and nothing has been finalized yet.
Meanwhile on the Skagway waterfront, crews are doing mitigation work at the old ore loader.
Ryan says they are getting ready to clean out the ore dust, clean out the hydraulic fluid, clean out the lead paint that will come off as the structure is cut apart.
Ryan says the dock is expected to be ready to welcome cruise ship passengers by the beginning of next tourist season. The marine services platform will be built under a different contract.
Note: A representative for the Yukon Departemnt of Economic Development responded to an inquiry about the timeline for funding the marine services platform after this story aired. This is what she wrote:
On October 4, 2023 the Yukon government tabled the Second Appropriation Act 2023-24 for fiscal year 2023-24 (also called the 2023-24 Supplementary Estimates #1). This Appropriation Act includes $21,361,000 related to anticipated costs for the Skagway Marine Service Platform in fiscal year 2023-24, contingent upon completion of an Export Cooperation Agreement with the Municipality of Skagway and procurement process to select a contractor. The Second Appropriation Act 2023-24 is currently being debated in the Yukon Legislative Assembly, and is anticipated to be passed by the end of the legislative sitting, which is scheduled for November 23, 2023. Additional funds required for anticipated expenditures in future years will need to be appropriated in future sittings of the Yukon Legislative Assembly. The Government of Yukon signed a non-binding terms sheet with Skagway on September 7, 2023. We are working towards finalizing the Export Cooperation Agreement, under which the Yukon will fund the construction of a marine services platform in exchange for preferential access and fee discounts for Yukon mining companies using a future ore terminal. We believe that we are working toward a solution that will secure long-term tidewater access for Yukon's industry as well as meeting the needs of the community of Skagway.