Energy, Mines, and Resources

Minerals

Mining in Yukon

Placer mining land use

Quartz Mining Land Use

Quartz Mining Land Use - Threshold Table

View quartz operation class criteria in the chart below or download a copy of the list  371 KB.

If you exceed Class 3 criteria (in yellow), you need to apply for Class 4 quartz mining land use.

  Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4

Item

Activity

Class 1 Criteria

Class 2 Criteria

Class 3 Criteria

1 Construction of structures other than underground structures Structures without foundations intended for use for a period of not more than 12 consecutive months Structures without foundations Structures with foundations
2 Number of persondays in camp Not exceeding 250 Not exceeding 250 More than 250
3 Number of person in camp at any one time Not exceeding 10 More than 10 More than 10
4 Storage of fuel, total amount stored Not exceeding 5,000 L Not exceeding 40,000 L More than 40,000
L
5 Storage of fuel, amount per container Not exceeding 2,000 L Not exceeding 10,000 L More than 10,000
L
6 Construction of lines Not exceeding 1.5m in width and cut by hand or with hand held tools More then 1.5m in width and cut with tools that are not hand held More then 1.5m in width and cut with tools that are not hand held
7 Construction of corridors, width Not exceeding 5m in width Not exceeding 5m in width Not exceeding 10m in width
8 Construction of corridors, length Total length not exceeding 0.5km Total length not exceeding 0.5km Total length of more than 0.5km
9 Trenching Not exceeding,
(a) 1,200m3 on a group of three adjoining claims in the program, provided that no claim in the program forms part of more than one group of three, or
(b) 400 m3 per claim that is not part of a group of three adjoining claims referred to in paragraph (a)		 Total volume not exceeding 1,200m3 per claim per year Total volume not exceeding 5,000m3 per claim per year to a maximum of 10,000 m3 over the life of the exploration program
10 Number of Clearings per claim, including existing clearings Not exceeding 8 Not exceeding 8 More than 8
11 Number of clearings, helicopter pads and camps No more than 2 of the 8 clearings referred to in item 10 No more than 2 of the 8 clearings referred to in item
10		 More than 8
12 Clearings - removal of vegetative mat No removal of vegetative mat within 30m of a water body Removal of vegetative mat Removal of vegetative mat
13 Surface area of clearings Not exceeding 200m2 , except for clearings for helicopter pads and camps which cannot exceed 500m2 (a) Not exceeding 400m2 per
clearing, if only trees and brush are removed;
(b) Not exceeding 500m2 per clearing, for helicopter pads and camps; or
(c) Not exceeding 1,000m2 , if vegetative mat is removed

(a) more than 400m2 per clearing, if only
trees and brush are removed;
(b) More than 500m2 per clearing, for helicopter pads and camps; or
(c) more than 1,000m2 , if the vegetative mat is removed

14 Establishing new access roads, per exploration program Not authorized Not exceeding 5km Not exceeding 15km
15  Upgrading of access roads, per exploration program Not authorized Not exceeding 10km Not exceeding 30km
16  Establishment of trails, other than temporary trails, per exploration program Not authorized Not exceeding 10m in width and 15km in total length Not exceeding 15m in width and 40km in total length
17  Establishing or using temporary trails, per exploration program

Not authorized on Category A Settlement Land or on Category B Settlement Land

On Land other than Category A Settlement Land or Category B Settlement Land, establishing a temporary trail or using temporary trail that was established for another program if

(a) the temporary trail width does not exceed 7m or 1m more than the width of the equipment to be moved along the temporary trail, which ever is less;
(b) the total temporary trail length does not exceed 3km; and
(c) the temporary trail is only used for the purpose of moving sampling equipment between test sites

 Not exceeding 10m in width and 15km in total length Not exceeding 15m in width and 40km in total length
18  Use of vehicles on existing roads or trails Within the design limits or tolerances of the road or, if design limits or tolerances of roads or trails are not known, vehicles with a gross weight of less than 40t for roads, and less than 20t for trails Within the design limits or tolerances of the road or, if design limits or tolerances of roads or trails are not known, vehicles with a gross weight of less than 40t for roads, and less than 20t for trails Within the design limits or tolerances of the road or, if design limits or tolerances of roads or trails are not known, vehicles with a gross weight of more than 40t for roads, and less than 20t for trails
19  Off-road use of vehicles in summer Low ground pressure vehicles only Vehicles with a gross vehicle weight not exceeding 20t, that are used over a distance of not more than 15km Vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of more than 20t, that are used over a distance of not more than 40km per year
20  Off-road use of vehicles in winter Low ground pressure vehicles or vehicles with a gross vehicle weight not exceeding 40t used over a distance of not more than 15km Vehicles other than low ground pressure vehicles, used over a distance of not more than 25km Vehicles other than low ground pressure vehicles, used over an unlimited distance
21  Use of explosives Not exceeding 1,000kg in any 30 day period More than 1,000kg in any 30 day period More than 1,000kg in any 30 day period
22  Construction of underground structures Construction in which not more than 500t of rock is moved to the surface Not more than 40,000t of rock is moved to the surface per year and not more than a total of 20,000t is moved to the surface for the exploration program Not more than 100,000t of rock is moved to the surface per year and not more than a total of 200,000t is moved to the surface for the exploration program