Government of Yukon provides update on heap leach failure at Victoria Gold’s Eagle Gold Mine

The Government of Yukon continues to provide updates to Yukoners regarding progress on the remediation work and environmental monitoring at the Eagle Gold heap leach failure.

Support for former employees

• The court-appointed Receiver and the team at Victoria Gold are in the process of returning employee personal items and gear that remained on-site. Information for past employees is available on PricewaterhouseCoopers' website.
• The Receiver has secured a two-month extension for applications to the federal Wage Earner Protection Plan. Former employees who were terminated may be eligible for up to $8,500.

Environmental compliance and Inspector Directions

• Yukon government inspectors have issued a formal update on the status of the various directions issued to Victoria Gold, requiring the company to undertake critical environmental mitigation and remediation actions.
• Government inspectors noted that the requirements of the directions to commission additional water storage and install groundwater monitoring wells are now complete.
• Additional monitoring of the heap leach facility stability has been implemented to ensure the safety of workers on site, as required by another direction.
• Requirements of directions not yet met remain in effect. The receiver remains responsible for overseeing the implementation of these remaining measures and the Receiver is managing that work. The update on the status of directions  is available on the Yukon Water Board’s Waterline registry.

Site remediation and infrastructure progress

• The berm is expected to be complete in the coming days.
• Work is underway to construct a groundwater interception fence, this is the first of two fences that will be constructed to capture groundwater. Work on water treatment is progressing; currently water treatment is in the testing phase.
• There is a total of 483,000 m3 of contaminated water being stored on site.

Water quality analysis and additional monitoring

• Recent tests in Haggart Creek near the mine site found increasing levels of mercury, cobalt and cyanide.
• These substances are not normally present at these levels in the natural environment and the results show that groundwater contaminated by the heap leach failure is now reaching Haggart Creek.
• The most recent water quality monitoring results and specific figures can be found online.
• Mercury levels are above the target thresholds; however, the form of mercury present is not the type which accumulates in fish and wildlife tissues.
• Cyanide levels have generally been below the environmental guidelines, but the most recent results in Haggart Creek beside the mine site are starting to move above that threshold.
• Cobalt is an indicator of groundwater contamination from Dublin Gulch but is not itself a contaminant of concern.
• These results have led to additional monitoring to better understand the pathways of contaminated water and to mitigate potential risks to fish, wildlife and the health of people and the environment.
• At this time, contaminants in Haggart Creek do not pose a heightened risk to the health of residents or to those using the land and water downstream of the mine.