John McConnell was fired as head of Victoria Gold Corp. Photo: Victoria Gold Corp.
The CEO of the mining company responsible for a cyanide spill at the Eagle Gold Mine in northcentral Yukon has been fired.
Victoria Gold Corp. president and CEO, John McConnell, said in an Aug. 18 email he learned he was being dismissed by the company’s court appointed receiver, PricewaterhouseCoopers, the day prior.
His last day was Aug. 19.
“The past 15 years have been a blast and I’m very proud of what our team accomplished,” he said. “Stay tuned for my next adventure!”
The mine site is located near the Yukon community of Mayo on the traditional territory of the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun (FNNND).
The company faced mounting financial and public pressure after a landslide at the site on June 24 that released four million tonnes of cyanide laced ore and may have allowed up to 300,000 cubic metres of cyanide and other chemicals to leach into the environment including local waterways.
Last week, an Ontario court granted an application filed by Yukon government to place the mine into a receivership. The application was filed due to mounting concerns that the company was not properly addressing environmental and safety concerns, among other things.
The chief of FNNND and environmental groups previously called for the company to be removed from remediating the site.
