Financing of Yukon exploration projects on equity markets was extremely challenging in 2019. This lack of investment had a trickle-down effect to many Yukon exploration projects. The exploration industry cited a number of factors as the cause of the decline in the attractiveness of Yukon for investment including permitting uncertainty, land withdrawals, and a general lack of infrastructure. Because of these challenges explorers showed considerable interest in the 2019 YMEP program as one of the few sources of risk capital. The YGS received 99 applications seeking more than $3.2M. Funding for the YMEP was $1.4M in 2019.