By Canadian Press

Yukon government stepping in to build ‘safety berm’ after company misses deadlines

Jul 26, 2024 | 12:35 PM

WHITEHORSE, YUKON — The Yukon government says it is stepping in to build a safety berm at the site of the Eagle Gold mine disaster after the mine’s owner failed to meet a deadline imposed by a mine inspector last week.

Yukon government officials say the berm is essential to allow for the installation of groundwater monitoring and interception wells to collect contaminated material for treatment, but work has been hampered by a forest fire along an access road to the mine.

Lauren Haney, Yukon’s deputy minister of energy, mines and resources, says the mine’s owner Victoria Gold was supposed to build an access road and the berm by this week, but the government has now engaged contractors to do the work.

Haney says those contractors are in a “holding pattern” until they can safely access the site, and the construction will take about two weeks.

She says the government is only focused on “specific environmental protection measures,” not taking over the site, and the company remains responsible for cleanup after the June 24 slide of cyanide-contaminated ore and escape of millions of litres of cyanide solution.

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Haney says the Yukon government will make efforts to recover costs from the company, though Victoria Gold has laid off workers, decommissioned equipment and has seen its share price tank since the slide.

“It’s not a very positive outlook,” Haney said at a technical briefing Friday. “However, for now, the company remains on site and paying its contractors going forward and we are pleased to see them doing that.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 26, 2024.

The Canadian Press