Mine review begins in Yukon despite First Nation concerns

The Yukon government says an independent review of a catastrophic ore slide and cyanide solution spill at a gold mine in June is now underway, in a process that’s going ahead despite concerns raised by the local First Nation.

A statement from the Ministry of Mines says the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun has reviewed draft terms of reference and there’s an “open invitation” for it to participate.

But the First Nation this week accused the government of trying to “erase” its role in the process, saying it would only support the review looking into what happened at the Eagle Gold mine if it could “co-manage” the process and appoint its own advisers alongside three experts now named by the Yukon government.

The First Nation has pushed for a full public inquiry into the spill that sent millions of tonnes of cyanide-laced ore from the heap leach facility into the environment.

In a statement Friday, the territorial government says the review is expected to take six to eight months and is aimed at identifying changes to reduce or eliminate the potential for a similar failure occurring in the future.

The review board is made up of geotechnical expert Jean-Marie Konrad; Les Sawatsky, who is an expert in mine development; and Mark Smith, a professional engineer with 45 years of experience in gold heap leaching.

Mine owner Victoria Gold is in receivership and the government’s statement says the review is being paid for through that receivership.

“Understanding the causes of the failure will help inform remediation of the failure, possible options for a future restart of mine operations at Eagle Gold, as well as other future operations in the Yukon,” the statement says.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 30, 2024.

The Canadian Press