The Eagle Gold Mine in central Yukon. Photo: Victoria Gold Corp.
A gold company operating in Yukon says the territorial government is applying to the courts to appoint a receiver to take over its operations.
Victoria Gold Corp. has been in the news since June 24 after a massive landslide at its Eagle Gold Mine allowed cyanide and other chemicals to spill into nearby waterways.
The company, based in British Columbia, issued a statement on Wednesday saying it was “served with an application by the Yukon Government (the “Application”) seeking, among other things, the appointment of a receiver over the Company and its property and related relief.
“The Company intends to respond to oppose the Application,” the statement said.
APTN News reached out to the Yukon government regarding the application. In a short statement, a spokesperson said because the application is before the courts “we won’t be commenting on it during that time.”
The company has been criticized by the government and First Nations for its lack of information sharing since the June 24 spill at the mine in central Yukon located 375 km north of Whitehorse.
The government previously said it couldn’t halt all mining – but promised to pause projects that weren’t in operation for two months.
On Aug. 9 Yukon government officials said 68 dead fish were collected from Haggart Creek. The creek is located a few kilometers downstream of the mine’s heap leach facility.
Victoria Gold Corp. discovered dead Arctic Grayling and Sculpin on Aug. 2.
Officials said the company discharged cyanide-contaminated water from the mine’s storage treatment plant into the creek between July 31 and Aug. 2.
The federal government is also involved in the investigation. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans, also known as DFO, “ordered Victoria Gold Corporation to implement mitigation efforts” following the discovery of the fish.
The mine is on the territory of the Na-Cho Nyäk Dun First Nation.
On July 3, the nation said that it wanted an “immediate halt” of all mining activity in Yukon and is calling for an “urgent Independent Investigation and Review of the region’s most recent and potentially catastrophic mining failure.”
“We have been sounding the alarm for decades on the need for sustainable development and responsible mining,” said Chief Dawna Hope in a statement. “The integrity of our lands, people and ecosystems are our top priority.
“There must be an independent investigation and review immediately to understand environmental impacts from this disaster.”
