The Yukon Geological Survey (YGS) has seen significant change over the last year, with eight new staff joining the team in 2024. This change has brought some new energy to the survey, enabling more visits to exploration projects and building the organization’s capacity to deliver geoscience. This report provides a snapshot of YGS’ staff and fiscal resources, and summarizes YGS’ 2024 activities and project highlights. Over the course of the year, YGS organized three workshops to assess current gaps in map coverage, seek input from clients about their needs, and consider how current trends such as interest in critical minerals and increasing frequency of landslides might influence YGS’ priorities in the future. Following each workshop, a list of project ideas for future work was compiled; these are summarized in this report. Gold prices in 2024 were high, averaging over C$3351 per ounce during the production season. This was a major driver for placer activity in the Yukon, which recorded the highest production on record since 1886. On a more somber note, the failure of the heap leach pad at Eagle Gold Mine in late June had a significantly negative impact on the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun and the mineral industry in general. The medium to long-term effects of this incident on the environment and the mining sector are currently unclear.

The Yukon Geological Survey (YGS), a branch within the Government of Yukon, is dedicated to advancing our understanding of Yukon’s geology and disseminating this knowledge to various stakeholders, including other government departments, First Nations governments, private companies and the public. The YGS team conducts research across a range of Earth science fields including surficial and bedrock geology mapping, mineral assessments, permafrost and landslide monitoring, geotechnical monitoring along highway corridors, and geothermal research. This research generates data essential for understanding Yukon’s environment and addressing challenges. A foundational understanding of Earth science is essential for government partners, First Nations and the public to fully benefit from YGS’ findings. The YGS supports informed decision-making, responsible land stewardship, and economic development by making geoscience knowledge accessible. Outreach serves as a bridge between research and real-world application, ensuring that YGS’s research is not only shared but also understood by end users. The YGS seeks to inspire and engage with Yukoners by demonstrating how Earth science is both fascinating and relevant to daily life. The YGS helps individuals make informed decisions about the Yukon’s land and resources by sparking curiosity and building an understanding of Earth science. The YGS prioritizes outreach efforts by fostering collaboration with First Nations, supporting educators with curriculum-aligned resources, and encouraging public engagement with Earth science. This overview highlights YGS’ outreach initiatives and achievements throughout 2024.

The Yukon Geological Survey (YGS) includes a staff of approximately 20 geoscientists that conduct a wide variety of studies, including traditional bedrock and surficial mapping, community hazards mapping (e.g., monitoring landslides and thawing permafrost), mineral assessments, metallogeny and geothermal research. The role of geoscientists is to provide the knowledge required to meet society’s demand for natural resources, environmental sustainability, and improved resiliency against geohazards (American Geosciences Institute, 2012). The mandate of YGS is to provide objective, geoscience-related information to government, Yukon First Nations, and the public. Our research helps inform geoscience-related policy and investment decisions in Yukon, as well as support the land-use planning process. As a public government organization, we must improve geoscience literacy through effective communication so that all citizens of the Yukon understand how Earth’s systems (lithosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere) influence their everyday lives. Educating Yukoners will help them to make informed judgments that affect our territory and encourage public participation in policy making. Yukon Geological Survey recognizes the importance of having geoscientists on staff who are dedicated to outreach and education. As of September 2023, YGS has two full-time, permanent Outreach Geologist positions. This paper is a summary of YGS’ outreach and education activities over the last year

This paper provides a high-level overview of the Yukon Geological Survey’s (YGS) activities in 2023. Several of the projects described here are presented in more detail in the 2023 Yukon Exploration and Geology technical papers volume. References to these are included where applicable. The YGS had a challenging year in 2023. Wildfires and landslides punctuated the field season, disrupting field plans for some, and requiring work priorities to be adapted. Additionally, the survey had six staff members leave and two others were on extended absences, which had an impact on operations. Despite a reduced capacity, YGS staff continued to deliver on projects and fill client requests for information. Recruitment efforts are underway and YGS anticipates seeing growth in the coming year. Looking forward, 2024 marks the start of the survey’s next five-year planning cycle. The YGS has started preparing for discussions among staff, research partners and clients about knowledge gaps and emerging needs. Readers are welcome to reach out and share their project ideas or suggest ways to improve on data delivery.

The Yukon Geological Survey (YGS) provides the geoscience information required for resource and land management for the benefit of all Yukoners. As this information can be highly complex and technical, public outreach and education is necessary in order to make this information accessible and meaningful. In 2019, the YGS reached out to almost 2000 individuals from across Yukon. The majority of individuals were students, but we also met with members of the public and with First Nation citizens. While the author is the lead on most outreach activities, YGS staff also participate in public lectures, interpretive hikes and other outreach initiatives. This paper provides a summary of outreach and education activities for 2019.

Four years after the first Yukon Geoscience Planning Workshop (the Marsh Lake Workshop, Yukon Geoscience - A Blueprint for the Future, Yukon Geology Program, March, 1995), forty-two representatives of industry, academia, and government met at the High Country Inn in Whitehorse to re-examine the state of Yukon geoscience. Over two days, with the expert facilitation of Steve Morison, Gartner Lee Ltd., the participants reviewed the first plan, the work that was done since 1995, and produced a new set of priorities to guide Yukon geoscience into the next millenium. The 1999 Yukon Geoscience Planning Workshop had a format similar to the 1995 workshop and many of the original participants were able to attend. This continuity greatly added to the quality and credibility of the input.

Geoscience, which is the study of Earth systems, is complex and highly dynamic. It examines the interactions between the lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and atmosphere – all of which are critical to sustaining our planet (AGI, 2012). The Yukon Geological Survey’s mandate is to provide objective geological information to Yukon government, Yukon First Nations and the general public. This information underpins geoscience-related policy and investment decisions in the territory, and adds value to Yukon’s geoscience knowledge base. With a staff of more than 15 geoscientists, the Yukon Geological Survey (YGS) conducts a wide variety activities from traditional bedrock and surficial mapping, to focused studies such as community hazards mapping (e.g., monitoring landslides and thawing permafrost), and mineral assessments, among others. As a government organization, it is our duty to not only engage with First Nations and other governments, but to also educate all citizens of the Yukon about the importance of geoscience in order to help society find and manage our natural resources for the present and future (Geoscientists Canada, 2018). YGS recognizes the importance of having a geoscientist on staff who is dedicated to outreach and education. Communicating geoscience effectively, and educating Yukoners on how Earth systems work will help them to make informed judgements that affect our territory, as well as our planet (AGI, 2011). Despite the ongoing pandemic, YGS remained very active in public outreach and education; this paper provides a summary of activities for 2021.

This overview provides a summary of research highlights for 2022. Many of the projects described here are presented in more detail in the Yukon Exploration and Geology technical papers that are released with this Overview volume. Two highlights from 2022 are worth noting this year. First, 2022 marks the 30th anniversary of YGS. Since its creation, the Survey has grown and evolved into a multi-disciplinary organization that provides expertise across a range of disciplines (bedrock geology, regional tectonics, glacial history, geohazards and metallogeny) and excels at geoscience education and information management. The second noteworthy event to point out was the discovery of a mummified baby woolly mammoth (Nun Cho Ga) in June on Upper Eureka Creek. Two Survey staff had the privilege of assisting with the recovery of the mammoth and participating in the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation ceremony that marked this scientifically and culturally important discovery. Jeff Bond subsequently mapped the discovery site in detail, documenting the conditions that led to the remarkable preservation of Nun Cho Ga.

This is the third in a series of five-year planning documents that have guided government geoscience in Yukon over the last ten years. It presents a broad set of needs and priorities for Yukon geoscience for the next five years, but is not a business or work plan. Although developed primarily from the Yukon Geological Survey (YGS) perspective, the Geological Survey of Canada and universities will help to meet these needs either independently or through partnerships with the YGS. It was developed during the spring, summer of 2004 as an internal draft that was later modified and refined through consultation with the Geological Survey of Canada and the Technical Liaison Committee to the YGS. Over the last five years, the need for geoscience information has grown and spread to a wider and wider audience. Geoscience is utilized primarily by the mining and petroleum sectors to support exploration for minerals and hydrocarbons, but it is increasingly playing a role in other industries such as forestry, fisheries and tourism. In all of these industries it is playing a role in their development and management. Decisions related to the utilization of natural resources are increasingly being made or influenced by many groups including developers, land managers planners, regulators, First Nations, and the general public. Their decisions need to be formed with accurate information about the nature and potential of resources, and the best practices in mitigating and preventing environmental damage. This volume includes sections on: bedrock mapping, mineral deposit studies, mineral assessments, regional geochemical and geophysical surveys, subsurface geology, energy/hydrocarbons, surficial geology and placer deposits, information management and outreach.

Like everywhere else around the world, 2020 was underscored in Yukon by the sudden spread of the COVID-19 virus and the drastic social and economic changes it precipitated. For Yukon Geological Survey (YGS), this meant a hasty retreat from offices in March, a reduced and modified field season, disruption of our client services, and uncertainties about the duration of the “new normal” and the impact it might have on Yukon’s communities and minerals sector in the long term. Relative to most regions of Canada, Yukon has fared relatively well and by June, the minerals sector was focused on how they could undertake exploration rather than how they might recover from a cancelled field season. Similarly, YGS managed to complete most of its planned field activities (albeit with a reduced scope), and to administer an expanded Yukon Mineral Exploration Program.