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

On site

Activities on site

• Work continues on site to advance critical environmental protection and human health and safety measures in the four priority areas of contaminated water storage, water treatment, groundwater monitoring and heap stability.
• A new water storage pond is complete. The pond provides an additional 120,000 cubic metres of storage capacity. Work is underway to develop further water storage capacity. To date, two storage ponds have been constructed increasing the total water storage capacity on site by approximately 146,000 cubic metres.
• Work is progressing to build the safety berm across the slide area. The safety berm will allow for groundwater monitoring wells to be safely installed near the slide area.

Groundwater monitoring

• High levels of cyanide are being detected in some groundwater monitoring wells, particularly those closest to the failure, and closest to Dublin Gulch.
• Groundwater containing high levels of cyanide also has high levels of various metals, including cobalt, copper, mercury, nickel, silver and selenium.
• The extent of groundwater contamination being measured in these wells is being used to inform mitigation options.
• Preventing groundwater from entering the environment is an important part of the remediation program.
• We will continue to provide updates as more results become available.

Off site

Surface water monitoring in Haggart Creek

• Recent results from monitoring stations on Haggart Creek closest to the mine site show more frequent detections of cyanide and a pattern of increasing concentrations of some metals, notably cobalt.
• From August 10 to September 18, all concentrations of cyanide detected in Haggart Creek were below the relevant guidelines for the protection of aquatic life.
• To date, we have not observed any exceedances of Haggart Creek water quality objectives for metals or other parameters as a result of the heap leach failure.
• Additional monitoring is underway to further investigate the observed changes in Haggart Creek.
• Water levels in nearby creeks are above average for this time of year and dilution is currently high as a result.

Fish monitoring

• Current water conditions within Haggart Creek are supportive of fish passage and the immediate risk to aquatic life within Haggart Creek has decreased.
• As a result, the fish barriers within Haggart Creek have now been removed to allow Arctic grayling in the upper Haggart watershed to resume their natural migration patterns.
• The joint Government of Yukon and First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun fisheries monitoring program concluded its summer work. Analysis will be beginning soon, with results expected by early 2025.

Wildlife monitoring

• Current information shows no evidence that the Eagle Gold heap leach failure has made animals unsafe to eat.
• The Department of Environment’s Animal Health Unit and the First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun are asking hunters harvesting moose and caribou north of Mayo to collect and submit liver, kidney, muscle and incisor bar samples.
• Hunters will not receive results on their individual submissions. The testing will establish baseline data, and through continued monitoring, will help us determine if the levels of heavy metals in caribou and moose tissues change over time.
• Preliminary results from this study are expected by early 2025.

 Available supports

• The Government of Yukon knows this is a difficult time and wants to ensure that workers and the public are aware of the different supports available.
• PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc. was appointed as the receiver of Victoria Gold and is responsible for contacting former employees who are owed wages. PricewaterhouseCoopers will facilitate applications to the Federal Wage Earner Protection Program (WEPP), a program designed for employees attempting to recover wages from a former employer that is now bankrupt or subject to receivership.
• Any former Victoria Gold employees with questions about this process should contact PricewaterhouseCoopers. Former employees may also want to contact Service Canada regarding employment insurance.
• The Employment Standards Office also conducts investigations and can issue Certificates for outstanding wages. Former employees who wish to bring a claim at the Employment Standards Office have six months to file their complaint.
• Anyone with questions about the process at the Employment Standards Office should contact:
  • Employment Standards Office
    307 Black Street, First Floor, Whitehorse, Yukon
    Phone: 867-667-5944 or toll-free in the Yukon 1-800-661-0408
    Email: eso@yukon.ca