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Yukon water regulator said miner ‘flouted’ licence, saved millions, long before spill
WHITEHORSE, YUKON, CANADA — Two years before the disastrous ore slide and spill of cyanide solution last month at the Eagle Gold mine in Yukon, the former head of the Yukon Water Board accused the mine’s owner of violating conditions of its water licence.
Roger Lockwood, then director of the Yukon Water Board, told a court that Victoria Gold “flouted” conditions of the licence, saving millions by allegedly failing to re-contour slopes at the mine, about 500 kilometres north of Whitehorse.
Lockwood, a former police officer, made the claims in a Yukon Supreme Court case, and estimated the company “saved more than $4 million through non-compliance with the conditions of the water licence,” a Yukon Supreme Court ruling says.
On June 24, Victoria Gold announced a “failure” at the Eagle Gold mine’s heap leach facility, suspending operations as it assessed damage.