It was 5:30 a.m. on June 24 and Mike Gordon was operating his bulldozer on top of the heap at Victoria Gold’s Eagle Mine, located near Mayo, Yukon, in the traditional territory of the Na-cho Nyak Dun First Nation.
Gordon was the only employee up there at the time. With zero warning the ground gave way underneath his machine
“I saw a million spider cracks. I looked behind me and realized I’m not going to make it anywhere,” he told APTN Investigates.
With that quick assessment, he knew he was going down.
“I realized I have to hold on and over the edge we go.”
It was 20 seconds of terror as he rode atop a landslide.
When the slide stopped, Gordon scrambled out the dozer. At first running not up nor down but sideways across the slope. Another slide in front of him stopped him in his tracks. He turned straight up, stopping five minutes later to snap some pictures. The earth gave way yet again just as he put the phone back in his pocket. He kept going. The last 50 meters, nearly vertical.
He had to pull himself up and over the edge to safety. Search and Rescue were there and got him off the mountain.
Four million tonnes of contaminated ore had given way. Half of it broke through containment. Of immediate concern was cyanide. Used in the heap leach process to separate gold from the rock.
And now, government biologists have found mercury in the water. Levels are not considered dangerous for people living downstream. But officials advise against eating the fish.
All this, smack dab in the middle of the Na-Cho Nyak Dun’s traditional hunting and fishing grounds. Chief Dawna Hope says the First Nation has kept a close eye on the company after multiple violations were reported, going as far back as 2019.
In March of 2021 inspectors fined Victoria Gold for failing to follow approved protocols with their cyanide management plans. The incidents began to pile up.
In 2022 the Yukon Government commissioned Piteau Associates to identify the mine’s deficiencies. The 61-page report contained 82 recommendations, 10 dealing with cyanide management alone.
In January of this year a slope failure was reported, a little more than five months prior to the June 24 catastrophe.
These are just a handful of the total incidents reported. Many of which, taken in isolation, could be considered small events. But Chief Donna Hope sums it up this way. “Eagle Gold mine has been a regulatory catastrophe from its inception to its collapse.”
In August Yukon petitioned the court to place the company in receivership. Believing it didn’t have the cash to finish remediation. Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) was appointed by the court to clean the mess up.
PWC reported the completion of a safety berm and access road were needed to complete other actions required. The construction of three new water storage ponds is underway. A new water treatment plant is almost ready to go and wells and sump pumps designed to capture contaminated water are in place.
Yukon government is conducting an independent investigation into the failure. The First Nation is pushing hard for a public inquiry. Believing only an inquiry can undertake the breadth and scope of the systemic review needed in light of this disaster. Concern is the independent investigation will not judge the years-long failed assessment, monitoring, and enforcement.
Chief Hope says the Yukon government is well aware of Victoria Gold’s shortcomings with the mine.
As it stands now, the government’s investigation is due to be finalized and made public in June 2025.
There has been a race to get the work done before winter fully sets in. Cyanide and other contaminants continue to escape unabated into the environment, and will continue to do so throughout the winter months.
As for Mike Gordon, he says he was bounced around quite a bit in his cab during the landslide and sustained injuries to his neck. Pain that he’s still dealing with.
He said he doesn’t sleep well. A workers compensation claim ensures he has time to heal and will help him pay for education.
Gordon said he won’t operate heavy equipment ever again
“I’m done. I’m 100 percent done,” he said.
After 20 years he’s out of the trades and will now study kinesiology
“I’m going to open a gym here where I live and focus on athletics. That’s a huge passion of mine and I won’t be outside in the cold.”
