HOW MUCH LONGER IS THIS GOING TO GO ON?

The Yukon Conservation Society, a local environmental non-profit, is calling for an audit of Faro mine spending. “Canadian taxpayers have already spent more than a quarter-billion dollars, and nothing has happened,” said Lewis Rifkind, the organization’s mining analyst.

“There hasn’t been any remediation or results on the ground. We have no idea where the money has gone, and they’re still issuing contracts like crazy,” he added.

Parsons Corp., a California-based engineering and construction giant, just won a $58-million contract to provide care and maintenance at the Faro mine site over the next four years. Before Parsons, Denison Mines Inc. had the contract for $32 million.

These numbers are out of whack with the Treasury Board of Canada annual reports, regulatory compliance and site assessments, which are oddly not included in care and maintenance contracts, have cost another $60 million, he said. Addressing problems at the deteriorating site, including installing a new water treatment system and covering a section of waste rock that was releasing contaminates, have cost an additional $60 million.

The remaining $80 million went to “overhead,” said Spagnuolo, including First Nation consultations and government salaries.

On top of this are consulting costs, like the $20-million Faro project design contract awarded to CH2M Hill in 2011 that, after three change orders, topped out at $82-million last year, according to the Yukon government’s contract registry.

Meanwhile, the mine site