On the one-year anniversary of the heap leach failure at the Eagle Gold Mine, Yukon Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources, John Streicker, issued a statement to recognize the seriousness of the disaster’s environmental impacts.
The heap leach failure and landslide occurred at the Victoria Gold Corporation’s Eagle Mine on June 24, 2024, sliding nearly half of an estimated four million tonnes of ore treated with cyanide solution off the heap and out of a containment area.
“We have faced this disaster head on,” Streicker announced in his statement. “From day one, our government has recognized the seriousness of the failure’s environmental impacts and the urgency of the response.”
The court-appointed receiver for Victoria Gold Corp. has begun work to recover gold from the cyanide water stored at the Eagle Gold Mine. Proceeds from gold sales will be used to help fund ongoing work at the site and offset public funds being spent on remediation efforts, the Yukon government announced.
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In March, receiver PricewaterhouseCoopers requested that the borrowing limit for cleanup funds be increased to $220 million.
Water containing cyanide continues to be treated and discharged from the mine site.
Recently, two new water storage ponds have been built at the site, providing an additional 200,000 m³ of water storage capacity. Technical experts hired by the Government of Yukon and the First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun meet on a regular basis with the receiver’s technical team to help inform decisions on heap leach stabilization, as well as water management, treatment and discharge.
Daily water samples are being collected and a comprehensive environmental monitoring program is underway.
“From day one, our focus has been on protecting on-site safety, the environment, our communities and our way of life,” Streicker added. “We are committed to understanding exactly what caused this failure — and ensuring it never happens again.”
An independent review is also underway to determine the cause of the heap leach failure. An independent review board will submit the final version of the report to the receiver on June 30, 2025. It is expected to be made public in the near future.
