Currently, the permitting process that a placer mine goes through in Yukon consists of an assessment through YESAB, and then an application for a water licence through the Yukon Water Board for the final operating permit. Because of an artifact of federal legislation being taken over under devolution, those processes aren't parallel; they're consecutive. Right now, the consecutive process can last up to six or eight months for a placer mine to go in. It sounds short when you're talking about metal mines, but contrast that with what we had prior to bringing in YESAA, when our process took up to 30 days to receive a water licence. The timelines have grown considerably for us, and with the timelines grows uncertainty.
On October 25th, 2016. See this statement in context.