Ore material at the mine site that has moved towards Dublin Gulch valley. Photo: Yukon Government
The Yukon government has established an independent board to review the cause of a landslide that occurred at the Eagle Gold Mine site on the traditional territory of First Nation Na-Cho Nyäk Dun (FNNND) in July.
The three-member board will investigate the causes of the landslide that allowed millions of litres of cyanide solution to be spilled into the environment and nearby watersheds near the community of Mayo.
Eagle Gold Mine, previously owned by Victoria Gold Corp., used “heap leaching” to separate gold from rock. The process involved ore being dumped into a lined pit and then sprayed with chemicals, including cyanide.
The board will heavily focus on the site’s heap leach facility and review its design, construction, operation, maintenance and monitoring.
The government said the review’s findings will help it determine changes to reduce or eliminate future infrastructure failures.
The board is made up of geotechnical expert Jean-Marie Konrad, senior civil engineer Les Sawatsky and mining engineer Mark E. Smith.
A news release said independent technical reviews of major mine infrastructure failures are common practice worldwide.
“As a responsible regulator, the Department of Energy, Mines and Resources must determine the causes of the failure to inform future decisions about the Eagle Gold project, as well as other future projects in the territory,” said John Streicker, minister of energy, mines and resources.
“The Independent Review Board is the most expedient process for determining the causes of the heap leach facility failure and will lead to changes that will help to prevent another event like this one from occurring in the future.”
The review is expected to take six to eights month to complete.
First Nation demands public inquiry
Last week, FNNND released a series of letters between itself and the government regarding concerns it had about the review process.
The First Nation disagreed with the government that an independent review board is the best option to investigate the incident, instead arguing for a public inquiry. It asked for a public inquiry to be held within three months.
The First Nation further noted it felt the board process “erased” it from meaningfully participating in the investigation and that it wanted more say in the selection process of the board experts.
The government in a statement to APTN News that FNNND “did contribute to the Independent Review Board, which includes board members and advisors.”
FNNND did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Tuesday, the Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin First Nation (TH) released a statement in support of FNNND.
The statement questioned who will pay for the estimated $150 million cleanup of the site and if taxpayers will foot the bill.
“Throughout Yukon’s history, it is the First Nations who have paid the ultimate price in mining disasters, and we are saddened at the prospect of yet another broken promise to Yukon First Nations people,” it said.
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The statement noted that TH would only support major mines on its traditional territory that provide a comprehensive and meaningful benefit agreement with the First Nation going forward.
The company, Victoria Gold Corp., was placed into receivership by an Ontario court in August. PriceWaterHouseCoopers has since fired the board and its president.
