Sharp decline expected for spending on N.W.T. mining projects

Spending on exploration and mine development will go up this year in Yukon and Nunavut, but not in the N.W.T., according to early estimates released yesterday by Natural Resources Canada.

Nationally, spending in 2015 is expected to decline by three per cent.

The estimates put the value of spending in the N.W.T. this year at $44 million, a sharp decline from the $96 million companies are believed to have spent last year.

"Quite frankly, we're in a situation where we don't have a lot of people working in the North," said Tom Hoefer, executive director of the NW.T. and Nunavut Chamber of Mines, of the N.W.T.

"We've lost so much investment over the years. What we're doing is trying to get that back."

Nunavut is expected to see spending rise to $174 million, compared to $145 million in 2014, while Yukon looks to have $126 million spent within its borders, up from $107 million last year.

The value of exploration work — the work done to find new mines in the North — is predicted to remain flat in Yukon and N.W.T. and actually decrease in Nunavut this year.