Mining
9 Reasons Mining Investors are Looking at Yukon Companies
In the mining industry, location is paramount.
Invest your capital in a jurisdiction that doesn’t respect that investment, or in a place with little geological potential, and it’s possible that it will end up going to waste.
That’s why, when there’s a place on the map that has world-class geology and also a plan for working with miners and new explorers, the money begins to flow to take advantage of that potential.
Why Investors are Looking at the Yukon
Today’s infographic comes to us from the Yukon Mining Alliance and it shows nine reasons on why people are investing in Yukon mining and exploration companies today.
For resource investors, it is rare to see variables like government investment, jurisdiction, geological potential, and investment from major mining companies all aligning.
However, in the Yukon, it seems this may be the case.
9 Reasons for the Yukon
Here are nine reasons the Yukon is starting to attract more investment capital:
1. Rich History
Mining was central to the Yukon even over a century ago, when over 100,000 fortune-seekers stampeded into the Yukon with the goal of striking it rich in the famous Klondike Gold Rush.
2. Geological Profile
In the last decade, there have been major discoveries of gold, silver, copper, zinc, and lead in the Yukon – but perhaps most interestingly, only 12% of the Yukon has been staked, making the region highly under-explored. Spending on exploration and development rose from $93 million to $158 million from 2015-2017.
3. Major Investment
Major mining companies now have a stake in the polymetallic rush. Recent companies to foray into the Yukon include Agnico-Eagle, Barrick, Couer Mining, Goldcorp, Kinross, and Newmont.
4. Leaders in Exploration and Mining
Juniors in the region are working on new geological ideas as well as new technology to unlock the vast potential of the region.
5. Progressive Partnerships
First Nations and the Government of Yukon have recently championed a new government-to-government relationship that enables them to be on the exact same page when it comes to mineral projects.
6. Government Investment
The Yukon government is investing in new infrastructure (via the Resource Gateway Project). It also offers the Yukon Mineral Exploration Program (YMEP), which provides a portion of risk capital to explore and develop mineral projects to an advanced stage.
7. Made in Yukon Process
The Yukon government also tries to foster regulatory certainty to create clarity for companies and investors, by its customized tri-party process.
8. Infrastructure
The jurisdiction has 5,000km of government maintained roads, receives 95% of power from clean hydro, has international and local airports, and has access to three deep-water, ice-free ports.
9. Geopolitical Stability
Canada offers geopolitical stability to start with – but with unprecedented cooperation between the territorial government and First Nations, the Yukon is arguably a step above the rest of the country.
Mining
Visualized: The EV Mineral Shortage
Demand for mineral supply of lithium, nickel, and cobalt is expected to grow from 10%-20% to over 80% by 2030.

How Mineral Supply Will Change EV Forecasts
Did you know that EVs need up to six times more minerals than conventional cars?
EVs are mineral-intensive and are pushing up demand for critical battery metals. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), lithium, nickel, and cobalt demand is expected to grow from 10%-20% to over 80% by 2030.
As countries around the world pledge to go all-electric by 2035 and 2040, do we have enough mineral supply for EV demand?
Factors such as geopolitical concentration of resources, quality of materials, mining industry lead times, and environmental factors will together determine whether we have the minerals we need.
Let’s take a look at how critical minerals are affected.
Mineral | Constraints |
---|---|
Copper | Copper mines currently in operation are nearing their peak, suffering from reserve exhaustion, while ore quality in older mines is declining. South American and Australian mines are located in areas where water availability can be scarce. This could cause setbacks given the high water requirements needed for the mining process. |
Nickel | There are a number of growing concerns related to higher CO2 emissions and waste disposal. Nickel quality needs to be high (Class 1) for EV batteries. Most nickel in the global supply chain is unusable for EVs. |
Cobalt | The Democratic Republic of Congo and China account for around 70% of production. 90% of cobalt produced is a by-product of nickel and copper, making new supply subject to the development of these mines. |
Rare Earth Elements | Concerns surrounding negative environmental credentials in processing operations. The value chain from mining to processing and magnet production is geographically concentrated in China. |
Lithium | The world could face severe lithium shortages as early as 2025. Lithium mines that started operations between 2010-2019 took an average of 16.5 years to develop. China accounts for 60% of global production and more than 80% of lithium hydroxide. Over 50% of lithium mines are located in areas that suffer water shortages. This could cause setbacks, given the high water requirements for mining processes. |
Recycling is a partial solution to alleviate critical mineral supply but will fall short of meeting the high levels of demand until around the 2030s.
The EV Supply Chain
Currently, the resources for EV batteries are concentrated in very few countries. This concentration is an increasing concern for supply chain distribution.
China is home to more than half of the world’s lithium, cobalt, and graphite processing and refining capacity, as well as three-quarters of all lithium-ion battery production capacity.
Europe accounts for more than one-quarter of worldwide EV assembly, but home to very little of the supply chain, with the region’s cobalt processing share accounting for 20% of the mix.
Meanwhile, both Korea and Japan control a sizable portion of the downstream supply chain after raw material processing. Korea accounts for 15% of worldwide cathode material production capacity. Japan produces 14% of cathode and 11% of anode material.
The United States accounts for just 10% of EV production and 7% of battery production capacity.
Suggested Solutions
To reduce setbacks surrounding resource demand, KGP Auto’s new report recommends that material supply is accessed and matched to a broader fuel energy mix.
In this scenario, platinum group metals (PGMs) continue to play a leading role in the auto industry by assisting in building cleaner emission vehicles.
These vehicles support more sustainable fuels such as hydrogen, filling the gaps to net-zero targets by allowing EVs to catch up with material supply
>> Read KGP Auto’s Powertrain Outlook Report to learn more.

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