IN KLONDIKE, WIND IS GOLD

Wind power for a mine? Yukon firm looks skyward
August 10, 2007 (Canadian Broadcasting Company News)

WHO
Klondike Star Mineral Corp.

Yukon Territory. Whitehorse is in the south central, Dawson the northwest. (click to enlarge)

WHAT
Klondike Star is studying the potential for wind energy to fuel its gold mining operations, due to the rising costs of fossil fuels.

WHEN
- This is the Klondike Star wind study’s 2nd year.
- The Lone Star mine produced gold from 1912 –14.

WHERE
Klondike Star is based in Whitehorse, Yukon Territories. The Eldorado Dome is near Dawson City, on the site of the former Lone Star mine, 20 km from Dawson City. Klondike Star is mining original placer gold-producing sites at Bonanza and Eldorado Creeks

WHY
- The Klondike Star study will cost $150,000-$200,000. The 1st year’s results warranted a second, probably conclusive, year of study. They are looking at wind speeds and directions at various heights as well as air pressure and density factors and how icing will affect a turbine.
- The mining project costs $6 million and employs 60 people.

An experimental wind turbine in the Yukon.

QUOTES
- Don Flinn, vice-president/operations: "We want to address all the environmental and ecological issues that are presenting us…But there are also some economic realities out there right now that we're facing that are causing us some problem — and they're causing the industry problem — and that being the high cost of energy related to fossil fuels…We're encouraged by what we see and have gone ahead and gone into the next stage of wind monitoring."
- John Maissan, wind energy consultant: "We're now measuring the wind speed at 20, 30, 40 and 50 metres in height above ground level…In addition to that, we're also measuring wind direction, and then we're also at ground level measuring the air pressure and temperature. Because they all factor into air densities, and therefore the amount of energies one can get out of wind."