The Yukon Geological Survey (YGS) has seen significant change over the last year, with eight new staff joining the team in 2024. This change has brought some new energy to the survey, enabling more visits to exploration projects and building the organization’s capacity to deliver geoscience.
This report provides a snapshot of YGS’ staff and fiscal resources, and summarizes YGS’ 2024 activities and project highlights.
Over the course of the year, YGS organized three workshops to assess current gaps in map coverage, seek input from clients about their needs, and consider how current trends such as interest in critical minerals and increasing frequency of landslides might influence YGS’ priorities in the future. Following each workshop, a list of project ideas for future work was compiled; these are summarized in this report.
Gold prices in 2024 were high, averaging over C$3351 per ounce during the production season. This was a major driver for placer activity in the Yukon, which recorded the highest production on record since 1886.
On a more somber note, the failure of the heap leach pad at Eagle Gold Mine in late June had a significantly negative impact on the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun and the mineral industry in general. The medium to long-term effects of this incident on the environment and the mining sector are currently unclear.