Methods of streamlining the Faro mine reclamation process are being sought, says Energy, Mines and Resources Minister Ranj Pillai.

Speaking to the Star this morning, Pillai explained that discussions also involve the issue of providing more opportunities to the Ross River Dena Council.

The First Nation has been dealing with the negative impacts of the Faro mine for decades, and should have more access to benefit economically from the reclamation project, he said.

Pillai explained it can be a cumbersome and slow process when both the Yukon and federal governments must agree on all decisions regarding the Faro mine, no matter how big or small.

“From my experience over the last year and a half, it is certainly a challenging file,” the minister said.

“Some of the first meetings I had were with the private sector coming to me talking about lost opportunities and their frustration with the speed the project is going, and how quickly we could get at the work that has to be done.”

The federal government permitted the mine back in the 1960s, and is responsible for covering the cost of any care and maintenance work or efforts to reclaim the mine site.

But the Yukon government has a role in managing work at the site as well as collaborating with Ottawa on the development a work plan to address care and maintenance of the site and some reclamation work.

Both governments are involved with making decisions in the management approach and spending priorities.

When you have two government bureaucracies having to make joint decisions on every single step, Pillai said, matters can get bogged down.

Ross River Chief Jack Caesar flew to Ottawa in February to meet with Pillai and federal officials to discuss finding a new approach that streamlines the process while providing the First Nation with opportunities, he said.

Pillai said he would like to have a new arrangement agreed to by the end of spring, though he did not disclose specific details, as matters are still under discussion.

The Faro reclamation project should be moving more quickly than it is, and it should be providing greater opportunities for all Yukon companies, he said.

Pillai said the project is “behemoth,” and will involve the spending of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Yukon Party MLA Wade Istchenko raised the question of Faro in the legislature last week, saying his party was hearing about discussions regarding a new approach to managing the project.

Among the concerns raised by Istchenko was whether the Yukon is contemplating handing over all responsibility for Faro to the federal government, or what he described as a type of reverse devolution.

He said there was also concern any change in the governance structure could have implications for staff in the Yukon government’s branch that deals with abandoned mines.

The Devolution Transfer Agreement came into effect on April 1, 2003.

It transferred the responsibility for managing the territory’s resources from Ottawa to the Yukon government.

The agreement commits to a partnership between the two governments in dealing with abandoned mine sites permitted by the federal government prior to devolution.

The federal government has already spent in excess of $250 million on care and maintenance and some reclamation of the Faro site since it was abandoned in 1998.

Work has continued on developing a plan for reclamation and permanent closure of the site, but the plan has not been finalized.

While there’s been no definitive estimate of what reclamation and closure will cost, discussions have suggested upwards of a half billion dollars.

The Faro open pit mining operation began in 1969, and was once the primary driver of the Yukon economy.

The site includes a massive tailings pond, three open pits and several waste rock sites.