Partially treated contaminated water continuing to leak from a temporary storage pond at the Eagle Gold Mine is alarming for the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun (FNNND), which is demanding the situation be met with the urgency it calls for.
The First Nation’s technical experts believe that more than three times as much toxic water has escaped the pond than what the Yukon government previously reported — 65 million litres compared to 19 million litres. The First Nation believes the leak started as early as Dec. 10, 2024, as noted in one of two press releases FNNND issued about the mine slide fallout on Feb. 26.
The start of the leak and the amount of contaminated water that has leaked out are estimates based on daily water management reports from Pricewaterhouse Coopers, the court-appointed receiver, that detail inflows to the pond and the volume it contains. FNNND's technical team believes the discrepancy in the amount leaking out is due to the Yukon government only accounting for cyanide-affected water in the pond at the time of the leak, whereas FNNND has factored in the treated, yet non-compliant, water that has been added to the pond.
While the release from FNNND notes that concentrations of cyanide downstream of the storage pond have been strong enough to kill fish since the middle of January, it doesn’t mention any reports of dead fish lately. FNNND's technical team added that the winter season and ice-covered creek make it difficult to observe its conditions. Yukon government officials told a press briefing earlier in February that no fish kills have been seen since mid-January.
Pricewaterhouse Coopers had the storage pond built to manage contaminated water at the mine site north of Mayo, within FNNND’s traditional territory. The receiver has been in charge at the mine site and overseeing the cleanup from the June 2024 landslide that breached Victoria Gold Corp.’s heap leach facility.
As the slide came over the embankment and down Dublin Gulch, the cyanide leach that’s used to collect gold went outside the containment. That contaminated water is being collected and put into containment ponds.
In early January, the government publicly acknowledged the second largest of three containment ponds built under the receivership started leaking. The territorial mines minister learned about the leak between Christmas and the new year.
In the release, FNNND Chief Dawna Hope referred to the cyanide, cobalt, nickel and chloride spilling into the surrounding environment.
“The situation remains an unmitigated disaster. We are deeply concerned that Yukon Government and Pricewaterhouse Coopers are not acting with the urgency required to address this emergency,” Hope said in the release.
While no one was available for interview, FNNND's technical team responded to the News' questions by email on Feb. 26 and 27.
"FNNND urges YG to follow FNNND’s lead and immediately declare a state of emergency to deploy all possible powers to contain and mitigate the ongoing crisis at the Eagle Gold Mine," FNNND said by email.
"It is an emergency for our lands and waters. It is an emergency for the fish and animals that live on those lands and in those waters. It is an emergency for our people who rely on those lands. And it is an emergency for the environment of Yukon overall, as cyanide and heavy metals continue to contaminate the water and poison the land."
Pressure is on
Mines Minister John Streicker spoke with the News by phone on Feb. 25, the afternoon before FNNND issued two press releases on the situation.
“It is crunch time right now,” Streicker said.
A settling pond that has been under construction is almost done, per Streicker. Once complete, it will eventually pull from the leaking pond until the leaking pond is empty.
Streicker indicated final testing is underway, and the settling pond is working how it’s supposed to work, but the tests need to ensure that the total copper is dropping out.
Completion of the settling pond will mark a “huge milestone,” Streicker said. Right now, he cited two problems: contaminated groundwater slowly moving towards Haggart Creek and the upcoming snow melt.
“Suddenly, you're just managing a whole lot more water,” he said. “We've now got wells in place and the ability to intercept that water, but you've got to be able to treat it.”
Streicker said the receiver is working through a “range of possibilities” to safely work on the heap.
“There's still overall risk of a secondary slide happening,” Streicker said.
'Bad behaviour'
In the release, FNNND is calling for “all steps” to be taken to contain the leak, more groundwater interception wells to be installed and moving contaminants from the leaking storage pond to other storage options.
However, the email statement from FNNND indicates the First Nation doesn't want additional wells.
"At this point, FNNND is not advocating for additional wells, but for pumping of the existing wells and sumps in these two rows and also closer to Haggart Creek, where we know contaminated groundwater is entering surface water," reads the statement.
FNNND has asked Canada’s auditor general to audit the Yukon’s mineral regulations and mining industry oversight, particularly the “failures in oversight” at the Eagle Gold Mine. (The Yukon doesn’t have its own auditor general.)
“Yukon Government failed to take meaningful enforcement action against Victoria Gold Corp., allowing unsafe mining operations to continue at the Eagle Gold Mine,” FNNND said in a press release.
“Of the 40 inspections conducted at the site since 2019, 25 identified regulatory violations, yet penalties were minimal, and oversight remained lax. And disaster was the result.”
Hope is quoted in the release saying the Yukon government “turned a blind eye” to the problems, allowing the “bad behaviour” that culminated in disaster.
The cause of the landslide has yet to be publicly stated by other authorities involved. An independent review initiated by the Yukon government is investigating what caused the slide in the first place.
"FNNND is not suggesting that a lack of meaningful enforcement was the sole cause of the June landslide. The direct, technical cause will be determined following site investigation and analysis," reads an email from FNNND.
"We are saying that the history of Eagle Gold demonstrates that YG created an environment of regulatory impunity that allowed VGC’s culture of sloppy and negligent operational conditions to prevail. Moreover, YG failed to adequately respond to worsening operational conditions, such as following the precursor slide on the heap leach facility in January 2024."
As noted in the release, FNNND met with auditor general Karen Hogan and other representatives from her office in Ottawa on Feb. 24.
FNNND is also asking auditors to look into the co-development of new mineral legislation with First Nations, stemming from federal devolution and following calls for new mineral law based on “Indigenous rights and responsible environmental stewardship."
The release notes FNNND has been working with the Yukon government and other First Nations on the new rules around managing mineral activity like mining.
“But much more work is required to address FNNND’s core objective of ensuring mining only takes place when it is consistent with the spirit and intent of FNNND’s treaty,” reads the release.
Streicker told the News that, for the past year, the mineral legislation has been stuck at the government-to-government stage with First Nations involved in its co-development. He acknowledged the legislation is taking longer than anticipated.
Representatives from the territorial government, Indigenous governments and groups, and the Council of Yukon First Nations, a political advocacy group representing some Yukon and transboundary First Nations, make up the steering committee that is working on the legislation. They meet regularly, according to a Yukon government release.
Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com
