- Victoria Gold (TSX:VGCX) will likely be dealing with last month’s ore slide and spill of more than 300 million litres of a cyanide solution at its Eagle mine in the Yukon for years to come
- Despite the company’s containment efforts, contaminated water is flowing towards nearby Haggart Creek, putting wildlife and residents at immediate risk
- Victoria Gold is a mineral explorer and producer focused on the Yukon
- Victoria Gold stock has given back more than 90 per cent since the June 24 spill
Victoria Gold (TSX:VGCX) will likely be dealing with last month’s ore slide and spill of more than 300 million litres of a cyanide solution at its Eagle mine in the Yukon for years to come.
The spill, which occurred June 24, resulted from landslide and failure at the company’s heap leach facility, where gold is extracted from ore using a cyanide solution, and has been draining into nearby waterways for weeks.
Water samples from last month detected 0.04 mg of cyanide per litre, half of which is considered fatal for most fish species, though samples taken in early July did not detect the chemical in quantities beyond water drinking guidelines.
That said, environmental professionals have been adamant about the disastrous effects in store when contaminated water from the Eagle mine reaches nearby Haggart Creek, a hub for the region’s declining fish supply, as well as a stop along the way to the South McQuesten River, around which many Yukoners reside.
While Victoria Gold has been mostly silent as it cleans up its mess, the Yukon Territory government has confirmed that containment plans are in effect. These include a government-mandated system to intercept and store groundwater in the valley below the Eagle mine, as well as the construction of two water storage facilities, each capable of holding 150,000 cubic metres of contaminated water. Even with potential government intervention, experts consulted by the CBC believe it will take years for the environmental consequences to fully come to light.
In an update released on July 12, Victoria Gold detailed its ongoing investigation and mitigation efforts, and expressed uncertainty about whether it can gather enough funding to repair its assets, remediate environmental damage or restart production at the Eagle mine.
The June spill adds to the company’s history of questionable regulatory compliance and at least four additional cyanide spills dating back to 2021.
About Victoria Gold
Victoria Gold is a mineral explorer and producer focused on the Yukon. As of Dec. 31, 2023, the company’s Eagle and Olive deposits house 2.3 million ounces of gold in proven and probable reserves, 4.4 million ounces in measured and indicated resources, and 700,000 ounces in inferred resources. At the current price per ounce, these ounces represent more than US$17.7 billion in the ground.
The company posted profitable results in each of the past four years, generating more than C$180 million in combined net income, as gold rose by more than 70 per cent over the period, currently trading at an all-time-high.
Victoria Gold Corp. stock (TSX:VGCX) is up by 2.99 per cent, trading at C$0.69 per share as of 1:39 pm ET. The stock has given back more than 90 per cent since the spill.
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(Top photo of containment dam construction at Victoria Gold’s Eagle mine in the Yukon: Yukon Government)
