'Strong containment' done at Eagle mine after heap leach slide, Yukon premier says

Yukon's premier says there's been "strong containment" at the Eagle mine site near Mayo, Yukon, after a rockslide this week involving stacked ore raised concerns about potential cyanide contamination of the environment.

Speaking to reporters in Whitehorse on Wednesday, Premier Ranj Pillai said his government has been responding to the incident since learning of it on Monday morning. He said there have been "constant conversations" with the local community and the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun.

"We understand that there's many Yukoners that have interest in what's happening," Pillai said.

"But we had to focus first and foremost on the people of Mayo, and the nation, and the community. And that's what we've been doing." 

Victoria Gold, which owns the Eagle mine, said in a statement on Monday that a heap leach pad failure caused "some damage to infrastructure and a portion of the failure has left containment." The company has not publicly released any more details about the extent of the damage.

The heap leach facility at the Eagle mine uses a cyanide solution to percolate through ore, stacked in 10-metre layers, to dissolve gold.

Pillai said "there's been a containment and mitigation efforts put into place right away," but offered few other details.

"We feel that there's been strong containment done. So at this point in time, we're using the best possible technical support to make sure that what's happened on site is contained," he said.

John Streicker, Yukon's mines minister, issued a statement on Wednesday afternoon, saying the mine released contaminated water, which was held back by dams. He said contaminated water was being pumped into storage ponds. 

Streicker also assured people that the water in Mayo is still safe to drink.

He said water monitoring was being done at the mine site, and that long-term water quality monitoring stations were still operating upstream and downstream of the mine.

Environmental Health Services and the chief medical officer of health are monitoring the situation, Streicker said, but the drinking water in Mayo has not been affected and potential risk is "extremely low."

"Our mineral resources staff are helping to review the company's plans for next steps to address the environmental and safety risks of the failure," Steicker's statement reads. 

Cause of failure unknown

Natural resource officers are are also assessing the site's "compliance with the terms and conditions of the mine's licences."

Streicker said it's too early to say what caused the heap leach failure. 

"What's clear at this point is that the failure involved a slide of the ore stacked in the heap leach facility," he said. "The slide caused ore to spill over the embankment at the base of the heap facility. The slide appears to have damaged some mine infrastructure."

No workers were injured, he added.

Pillai said his government would provide more details about the incident at a technical briefing on Friday. He said his government has already "reached out to global experts on these subjects."

He also urged patience while officials determine the extent of the damage.

"People want to have ... all the answers right away. And I understand that, but it's a situation where it's going to take a bit of time," he said.