Article content
WHITEHORSE — A recent slide of ore at a gold mine in central Yukon was the second such failure this year, the territorial government said.
That has one environmental group wondering if the previous problems at the heap-leach facility at Victoria Gold’s Eagle Mine should have been a warning sign, while the government waits to find out if the latest slide released cyanide into nearby creeks.
Article content
Work was stopped at the mine north of Mayo on Monday when the company announced the failure of its heap-leach pad, part of the system that uses a cyanide solution to extract gold from ore.
Yukon’s director of mineral resources, Kelly Constable, said Friday that the mine’s ore stockpile was in a series of “benches” and this week’s collapse was a “multi-bench failure, meaning it was significant in size.”
“The company moved quickly following the slide to build dams to hold back contaminated water released from the slide material,” she said.
Constable said a previous failure in January was at a different part of the facility, and that chemicals were not being used at that time. She said the ore in that case was contained.
A statement from the Yukon chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society said it wondered if the January event “should have been a warning sign about the flaws of the heap leach facility.”
“According to a Jan. 17, 2024, mine inspection report, ‘a slope failure occurred at the southeast area of the Heap Leach Facility (HLF),’ sloughing off 14,000 tonnes of crushed ore. The slide was later found to have damaged the heap leach liner,” the statement says.
Article content
A technical report on the Victoria Gold website says the primary heap leach pad can hold up to 92 million tonnes of ore and that the cyanide solution can move through the facility at two million litres an hour.
Victoria Gold CEO John McConnell did not respond to requests for comment.
Constable told a media technical briefing that information is still being gathered on how much ore moved in the latest slide, how much cyanide was in the facility at the time, and what caused the collapse.
Health officials have said current information suggested drinking water wells for the Village of Mayo are not affected.
A spokeswoman for the Yukon Workers’ Safety and Compensation Board said at Friday’s briefing there was one reported injury associated with the slide and that two workers at the site had received first aid treatment. However, none of the injuries were considered serious.
— By Ashley Joannou in Vancouver
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 28, 2024.
Share this article in your social network
Environmental Concerns
Given the pattern of failures at the heap-leach facility at Victoria Gold’s Eagle Mine, it raises concerns for environmental groups about the overall safety and stability of the operation. The previous incidents, especially the one in January, should have served as a cautionary tale for potential future issues.
Technical Details
According to a technical report on the Victoria Gold website, the capacity of the primary heap leach pad is substantial, holding up to 92 million tonnes of ore and processing cyanide solution at a rate of two million litres per hour. This information highlights the scale of operations at the mine.
Worker Safety
While the recent slide at the mine has raised environmental concerns, it is also important to note the impact on worker safety. The injury associated with the slide, although not serious, serves as a reminder of the potential risks that workers face in such operations. Ensuring the safety and well-being of workers should be a top priority for mining companies.
