The Mactung Project is a planned
open pit
Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique of extracting rock or minerals from the earth from an open-air pit, sometimes known as a borrow.
This form of mining ...
tungsten
Tungsten, or wolfram, is a chemical element with the symbol W and atomic number 74. Tungsten is a rare metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively as compounds with other elements. It was identified as a new element in 1781 and first isolat ...
mine located in the
Selwyn Mountains
The Selwyn Mountains are a mountain range in northern Canada, forming part of the border between the Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories, and which are part of the Eastern System of the Canadian Cordillera (aka the Western Cordillera). ...
of eastern
Yukon
Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...
, Canada, on its border with the
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...
. Mactung represents one of the largest tungsten resources in Canada having estimated reserves of 33 million tonnes of ore grading 0.88% WO
3.
The Mactung Project completed the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment process in July 2014, and the Yukon government approved construction of the mine (pending mining and water licence applications, and subject to a number of conditions) in September 2014.
North American Tungsten Corporation estimated the capital cost of the mine's construction to be approximately CA$400 million.
In November 2015, the Government of the Northwest Territories purchased the mineral deposit.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mactung Mine
Tungsten mines in Canada