Yukon mine halts operations after system failure, says infrastructure damaged

MAYO, YUKON — Work has been temporarily stopped at a mine in central Yukon after what the company says was a failure of its system that uses chemicals to help extract gold.

Victoria Gold says its heap leach pad at the Eagle Gold Mine near Mayo experienced a failure, causing some damage to infrastructure and that “a portion of the failure has left containment.”

Heap leaching uses chemicals to percolate through crushed ore, allowing it to extract the gold.

A technical report on the company’s website says gold is being leached with a cyanide solution.

The company says no one was injured, and staff and management continue to assess the situation and gather information.

John Thompson, a spokesman for the Yukon Department of Energy Mines and Resources says in a statement that territorial natural resource officers will be investigating.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 24, 2024.

The Canadian Press