Mount Nansen Airport

Economic reasons. The airport was a private airstrip built exclusively to support the operations of the nearby Mount Nansen gold and silver mine. When the operating company, BYG Natural Resources Inc., went bankrupt and abandoned the mine site in 1999, the airport no longer had a purpose and ceased all operations.

The airport is abandoned and non-operational. The site is part of the larger, abandoned Mount Nansen Mine complex, which is a designated federal contaminated site. The Canadian and Yukon governments are undertaking a major, long-term environmental remediation project to manage tailings ponds, contaminated water, and waste rock. The former runway is still visible on satellite imagery but is unmaintained and unusable. Access to the entire area is restricted due to the ongoing remediation work and environmental hazards.

The Mount Nansen Airport was a crucial piece of infrastructure for the remote Mount Nansen Mine in the Yukon Territory, Canada. Its primary role was logistical support, facilitating the transport of personnel, essential supplies, equipment, and potentially high-value ore concentrates. The gravel airstrip allowed for access to the mine, which was otherwise difficult to reach, especially during harsh weather conditions. It supported mining operations during their main periods of activity in the late 1960s and again from 1996 to 1999. The airport was not a public facility and its existence was tied directly to the economic viability of the mine.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening the Mount Nansen Airport. The current and future focus for the site is extensive environmental cleanup and remediation, a project expected to last for many years. Any potential for reopening would be entirely dependent on a future large-scale industrial or mining venture being approved for the area, which is considered highly unlikely given the site's significant history of environmental contamination and the high costs of the ongoing government-led cleanup.