Local mining company, Gladiator Metals, has renewed its push to redesignate tracts of land in the City of Whitehorse’s Official Community Plan (OCP) in order to pursue an exploratory drilling project in search of copper deposits beneath city land.
On June 29, city councillors heard a report from city administration on the new proposal as well as the city’s recommendations and amendments presented by the city’s Acting Manager of Planning and Sustainability, Dylan Harris.
In his presentation, Harris detailed the proposed amendments drafted by Gladiator Metals, which seeks to change the OCP in three ways.
First, the proposed draft seeks to create a glossary to define the following terms: mineral exploration, disturbed areas, established acces, and temporary equipment access.
Second, the draft amendment seeks to add policies to the Future Planning land use designation within the OCP to allow for mineral exploration to occur on lands designated as Future Planning.
Lastly, the draft proposes redesignating specific tracts of land from Greenspace to Future Planning under the OCP so that Gladiator Metals may undertake mineral exploration work.
This is the second time Gladiator Metals has appealed to the city to amend the OCP in order to accommodate proposed mineral exploration after a proposed amendment to exempt mineral exploration from OCP governance was halted by city council in early May of this year.
While city council rejected that proposal almost immediately, it indicated that it was open to hearing a more detailed proposal targeting specific tracts of land.
Now returning to council, Gladiator Metals has submitted a new draft this time targeting specific tracts of land near Whitehorse’s Copper Ridge neighbourhood between McLean Lake and Chasan Chua Territorial Park, as well as an area southeast of Mount Sima Resort and another directly south of Mary Lake.
All three of these areas are currently designated as green space under the OCP with some areas being additionally identified as environmentally sensitive areas (ESAs) that are subject to additional conservation focused policies under the OCP.
In his report to council, Harris noted that while these areas are currently designated as green space ESAs, city administration “has conducted careful policy, mapping and field investigations,” to determine whether redesignation is appropriate.
According to Harris, this work “revealed these sites have been significantly impacted by previous mineral resource activity or clear cutting for fire protection.” Harris says that due to these disturbances, it is the opinion of city administration that “these areas do not meet the intent of this designation” and considers redesignation of small tracts of green space and ESA land appropriate.
Harris also outlined weeks of engagement that took place between administration and Gladiator Metals, with Gladiator modifying their proposal to exclude some ESAs from proposed work areas and modifying some proposed policies and definitions.
However, Harris explained that several sticking points remain where administration was not able to reach a consensus with Gladiator Metals.
The area of contention revolves around two sections of proposed policy that Harris explained could limit the city’s capacity to regulate mineral exploration in the future. The sections describe Gladiator Metal’s desire for all mineral exploration activities to be considered permitted temporary use on city land designated as Future Planning and for those mineral exploration activities to be considered allowed for the issuance of a temporary land-use permit by default.
According to the administration’s report, this is an issue because it could result in a policy conflict and limit the city’s ability to regulate mineral exploration work on its land saying, “administration’s position is that proposed [amendments] could create a situation where valid authorization has been issued under the Quartz Mining Act that exceeds allowances granted through City Bylaw.”
Harris told councillors that while administration is “in agreement with most of this application,” it remains concerned that certain approvals issued by territorial regulators under the Quartz Mining Act could “go beyond the scope of what (the city) is comfortable with and has defined.”
Harris also said the administration wants to see references to activities consistent with territorial legislation and also reference city bylaws to ensure no approvals could be granted for activities “inconsistent with our policies.”
The report concluded with administration recommending that a bylaw to amend the OCP, as outlined in its submission, be brought forward through the city’s bylaw process. The decision now rests with councillors, who will determine whether to advance either version of the amendment as a draft bylaw. If council adopts one of the proposals, the resulting bylaw would proceed through the standard process, three readings and a public hearing, before a final vote, which administration says would likely occur in late fall 2026.
Contact Noah Korver at noah.korver@yukon-news.com
By Noah Korver, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Original Published on Jul 03, 2026 at 12:32
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