'It's over': Victoria Gold board quits as Yukon mine goes into receivership, CEO says

The board of Victoria Gold has resigned and its CEO, John McConnell, says the mining company is "done." If the Eagle mine were to open again, he said Victoria Gold wouldn't be the one in charge. 

The news comes one day after the company was put into receivership following a successful application from the Yukon government to take over. 

"Well, it's over. Victoria is done. They brought in a team to take over from us," McConnell told CBC News Thursday afternoon. 

"It's very sad," he said. "I think we could have had this mine up and running next spring."

The court decision comes a month and a half after the failure of the heap leach pad at Eagle mine, which shut down mining activity, and which led to cyanide leaking into and contaminating nearby waterways. The company has been facing significant financial difficulty in the wake of that event.

McConnell said he thinks the receivership was "totally unnecessary."

"I go from being mad to being sad," he said. "I get sad because it wipes out all equity shareholder value and probably wipes out the ability to repay our contractors and suppliers both in the Yukon and Western Canada."

McConnell said the company's shareholders have also been "wiped out." 

"Victoria Gold essentially doesn't exist anymore," he said. "They don't want to be responsible for a project that somebody else is in charge of." 

McConnell also said he and senior team members will probably stick around for a while to help with the transition, and for now he has not resigned. 

"I'm sure once they've got all the knowledge they think they can glean from us, we'll be sent packing," he said. 

Company refused to build berm

McConnell said the mining company refused to follow an order from the Yukon government to build a containment berm below the heap leach pad because it was concerned about the safety of its employees building it. 

"We would never build a berm like that with no engineering," he said. "It's just totally irresponsible in our opinion."

Speaking to CBC News on Wednesday, Yukon Justice Minster Tracey-Anne McPhee listed the company's refusal to build the berm as one of the reasons the government took legal action.

Despite everything, McConnell said he's still pleased with what the company achieved before it went into receivership.

"I'm very proud of what the team was able to do," he said. 

McConnell said the company modified its water treatment plant to make it "a cyanide destruction plant" and has stabilized the heap leach pad. 

"I've had probably 1,000 emails today from Yukoners upset, wishing me well," he said. 

"Those are the Yukoners that are my friends and that my family love, and that's why we'll be here for a while."