Clinton Creek Mine Remediation Project
Learn about the work underway to maintain and remediate the Clinton Creek Mine site.
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History of Clinton Creek Mine
The Clinton Creek Mine is an abandoned asbestos mine located 100 km northwest of Dawson City, Yukon within the Traditional Territory of the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in. The site is accessible by a seasonal road and is located along Clinton Creek (Dätl'äkay dëk in the Hän language), 9 km upstream of the confluence with the Fortymile River, which flows into the Yukon River.
The drainage of the Fortymile River into the Yukon River (Ch'ëdä Dëk in Hän) was an important travel and trade corridor for First Nations people and remains valued for its fish, berries, and edible plants and the Fortymile caribou herd.
The mine was operated by Cassiar Asbestos Corporation Ltd. from 1968 to 1978. More than 12 million tonnes of serpentine ore containing 940,000 tonnes of asbestos were extracted from 3 open pits. A total of 60-to-70 million tonnes of waste rock and 12 million tonnes of asbestos tailings were deposited along the Clinton Creek and Wolverine Creek valleys, respectively.
By 1974, downslope movement of the Clinton Creek waste rock pile blocked the valley bottom and formed Hudgeon Lake. Around the same time, the Wolverine Creek tailings pile also blocked the Wolverine Creek valley. While asbestos is the primary contaminant of concern, the main risks of the Clinton Creek Mine site relate to the stability of the site, in particular the tailings and waste rock, as well as the impoundment of Hudgeon Lake behind these site elements.
In 1992, prior to bankruptcy and the mine being abandoned, Cassiar Asbestos Corporation Ltd. decommissioned most of the site infrastructure (including the mill, tram, and camp). The mine site is currently in a state of care and maintenance. This will continue until remediation planning is complete and regulatory requirements are in place to proceed with active remediation of the site.
Responsible parties
The abandoned Clinton Creek Mine was designated as a Type roman numeral 2 Site under the Yukon Northern Affairs Program Devolution Transfer Agreement (Devolution Transfer Agreement) on April 1, 2003. Under this agreement, the Government of Canada is responsible for pre-2003 environmental liabilities and associated costs of remediation for abandoned Type roman numeral 2 mine sites, which for Clinton Creek Mine includes all liabilities on site. As per the agreement, responsibility for addressing the site was shared between the Government of Canada (funding and remediation planning) and the Government of Yukon (care, maintenance, and monitoring), working with the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in who is identified as the Affected First Nation for the Clinton Creek Mine.
In 2025, the governments of Canada and Yukon entered into a new agreement for the Government of Canada to assume all responsibility for remediation of the Clinton Creek Mine site, in addition to funding the work, which is currently done through the Northern Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program.
Work on the project is done in consultation with the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in, and in support of the First Nation's participation in the project. This collaborative approach to remediation, along with expected socio-economic opportunities for the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in people from remediation of the site, demonstrates progress toward reconciliation.
Clinton Creek Mine remediation activities
The Clinton Creek Mine site is in a state of care and maintenance.
Reporting on this work can be accessed from the Government of Yukon who led this work until mid-2025.
Remediation plan
The waste rock along Clinton Creek and at Hudgeon Lake, tailings at Wolverine Creek, and other tailings associated waterways are the focus of remediation planning.
The governments of Canada, Yukon, and Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in have studied site risks and collaboratively explored mine site closure concepts to meet jointly developed objectives (2015) to:
- protect human health and safety
- protect the environment, including land, air, water, fish, and wildlife
- return and/or retain the site to a state that supports community and traditional land uses
- maximize local, First Nation, and Yukon socio-economic benefits from the Clinton Creek Project
- minimize project related liability, risk, and costs
The governments of Canada and Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in will continue working towards a remediation and closure approach that will involve risk reduction and long-term adaptive monitoring and management of the site.
Progress to date
- 2025:
- Government of Canada assumed responsibility for care and maintenance of the site from the Government of Yukon.
- The preferred Clinton Creek Channel Upgrade option was selected by the governments of Yukon, Canada, and Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in
- 2023:
- A cost-sensitivity analysis for long-term Clinton Creek Channel Upgrades was completed by an engineering consultant. Two upgrade options, each with multiple scenarios, were identified as feasible.
- 2019-2020:
- 10 percent of design closure concepts were developed and costed by an engineering consultant. The selection process was paused until closure approaches consistent with current risks and available funding could be developed.
- 2018:
- Following erosion and damage to the Clinton Creek channel, interim repairs were carried out to prevent further damage. These repairs included the placement of large riprap (human-placed rock or other material used to protect the channel against erosion) and reshaping the nearby embankments.
- 2015-2016:
- Following a significant flood event in 2010 which damaged a part of the Clinton Creek channel, it was repaired using an articulated concrete block mat chute.
- 2006:
- Care and maintenance by the Government of Yukon began.
- 2003:
- The Yukon Northern Affairs Program Devolution Transfer Agreement took effect on April 1, 2003, and designated the Clinton Creek Mine a Type roman numeral 2 mine site.
- 2002-2003:
- Construction in the Clinton Creek channel was undertaken to provide stabilization of the lake outlet and reduce the risk of downstream flooding.
- 1992:
- Cassiar Asbestos Corporation Ltd. decommissioned most of the site infrastructure including the mill, tram, and camp.
- Mine site abandoned following Cassiar Asbestos Corporation Ltd. Bankruptcy.
- 1978:
- Clinton Creek Mine ceases mining activities.
- 1974:
- The Clinton Creek waste rock pile shifted downslope, blocking the creek valley bottom, and forming Hudgeon Lake.
- The Wolverine Creek tailings pile blocked the Wolverine Creek valley.
- 1968:
- Clinton Creek Mine begins operating, mining for asbestos from serpentine ore.
- Pre-1968:
- The Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in First Nation used the area known as Ch'ëdä Dëk, the drainage of the Fortymile River into the Yukon River, as an important travel and trade corridor.
Next steps
The governments of Canada and Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in, with transitional support from the Government of Yukon, will continue working collaboratively on studying and planning remediation for the site and discussing future governance of the remediation project.
Contracting and jobs
As of June 2025, work associated with the Clinton Creek Mine Remediation Project is shifting from being contracted by the Government of Yukon to being contracted by the Government of Canada.
Contact us for more information during this time of transition.
Contact us
Clinton Creek Mine Remediation Project
415C-300 Main Street
Whitehorse, Yukon
Y1A 2B5
1-800-661-0451
Email: YTcontaminatedsites-sitescontaminesYT@rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca