Victoria Gold warns it might not reopen Yukon gold mine or have the money to remediate it

The company responsible for the Eagle gold mine near Mayo, Yukon says it might not have the money to remediate the impacts of its heap leach failure.

In a statement from Victoria Gold Corp. issued Friday, the company also said it might never reopen.

“There can be no assurance that the company will receive [the government] authorizations necessary to restart production or that the company will have the financial resources necessary to repair damage to equipment and facilities or remediate impacts caused by the incident or restart production.”

The company also detailed the mine infrastructure that has been affected by the failure, including the heap leach embankment itself, piping, pumping, liner, two short lengths of fixed conveyors and some electrical infrastructure.

It also said that with production suspended it will “continue to work to minimize impacts to the environment, with the safety of employees as a foremost priority.”

The failure at the mine site last month saw a landslide rip off part of the mine’s heap leach pad, used to process ore and extract gold.

According to the company, it cannot reopen without authorization from the Yukon’s mineral resources director. 

The statement also included information about its water samples, in which it states that only water samples from Haggart Creek on July 2 contained cyanide. The most recent samples it includes date up until July 4.

“As of July 4, 2024, based on final sampling results … the company has not exceeded its Downstream Water Quality Objectives pursuant to its Water Use License,” it reads.

More to come.