Board tasked with investigating mine's heap leach failure to be announced next week by Yukon gov't
Latest briefing comes after Victoria Gold put into receivership
The Yukon government says it will announce next week the people tasked with conducting an independent investigation into the heap leach failure at the Eagle gold mine near Mayo.
Energy, Mines and Resources Minister John Streicker said at a briefing Friday morning that the government is in discussion with "world class experts" to serve on the investigation's board.
Today marked the government's eighth briefing on the mine since the heap leach failed eight weeks ago, on June 24.
The briefing comes just over a week after an Ontario judge approved the Yukon government's application to appoint a receiver to oversee Victoria Gold's assets. The next day the company's entire board quit, and the CEO proclaimed that Victoria Gold was "over."
Then, last weekend, the newly appointed receiver, PricewaterhouseCoopers fired the mining company's CEO, John McConnell.
During today's briefing, Streicker also said the government is in a legislated appeal period over the receivership decision, meaning it can't comment on the receivership or the company's financial situation.
"I am limited in what I can say today as an elected official."
Erin Dowd, manager of major mine licensing for the Yukon government, said the receiver is "moving quickly" to address environmental and human safety risks.
She said its main priorities are to create groundwater monitoring wells and to stabilize the heap.
A construction company is being brought in to start work on the berm to stabilize the heap and the access road to that berm, she said.
"We are exploring safe locations for additional water storage on site," she said.
The site doesn't currently have enough capacity for all the contaminated water expected to come from remediation, Dowd said.
Diversion pipe installed, cyanide levels decrease
Tyler Williams, a water resources specialist with the Yukon government, said pipes to divert contaminated water away from Haggart Creek have been put in place and have shown "significant positive impact on cyanide levels" in that creek.
Williams said water sampling results from Aug. 9 - 15 show much lower concentrations of cyanide in Haggart Creek, and 80 per cent of samples came back with no cyanide detected.
With the diversion, the contaminated water is pooling in a dry creek bed in Dublin Gulch, Willaims said. That water is then captured and pumped into trucks and sent back to water treatment plants.
Despite that, Williams said it's "still a dynamic situation that always has the potential to change."
