Toxic water oozing from a leaky containment pond at the Eagle Gold Mine is being diluted so it is less concentrated as it seeps out, according to John Streicker, Yukon mines minister.
“We don't want that water getting into the system or into the environment. So, we do our best to try and make it the least harmful that we can,” Streicker told the News on Jan. 13
A large wave of earth slid from the heap leach facility at Victoria Gold's mine on June 24, 2024. As the landslide 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.
The second largest of three containment ponds built under the receivership recently looked like its water levels were dropping but a leak couldn’t be found, per Streicker.
“No one can sit there and point to a leak,” Streicker said.
Streicker said the 23,000 cubic metres of contaminated water that was in the pond is down by more than half as a result of a leak. The pond can hold nearly 100,000 cubic metres, but it hadn’t been filled more than about a quarter with toxic water. There are no gauges on the pond since the receiver was acting quick to get it in place.
“We know it has cyanide in it,” Streicker said. “No one has been running testing on the water in that pond.”
The surface water around it is being monitored for problematic levels of “worrisome” metals like cyanide and mercury, according to Streicker.
The minister was briefed about the leak on the afternoon of Jan. 9, 2025. He learned about the leak between Christmas and the new year, and the government put out a statement to draw attention to it on Jan. 3, 2025. He publicly confirmed the “potential leak” was being referred to as a “leak” in an interview that aired on local CBC radio on Jan. 10, 2025.
Streicker said the leak won’t be found until the water is drawn down and the pond is investigated.
The interim solution has been to dilute the pond with cleaner water, which in turn defeats the ability to get at the leak, according to Streicker.
He said the receiver immediately reached out to the Yukon government and the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun about the leak. The receiver agreed the best approach was dilution for now.
During his briefing last Thursday, Streicker also got word that the final hurdle around water treatment is being addressed to create a settling pond next to the water treatment plant. Once complete, it will eventually pull from the leaking pond until the leaking pond is empty. Then they can find, patch and re-test the pond to ensure the leak is fixed.
The seepage will keep moving toward Haggart Creek, which is the same issue that existed before the pond's leak with the water coming from the bottom of the slide, Streicker said. He added that water treatment is the “critical path” right now.
“It's still the same problem. We've got to get at water treatment, then we can start pumping groundwater up,” he said.
He hopes to make an announcement about water treatment in the coming weeks.
The Yukon government is currently in what Streicker called a “budget exercise” in terms of its spending around Victoria Gold. The government is still considering what to contribute in addition to the $105 million it contributed to the receiver that's appointed to deal with remediation at the mine site.
Streicker said a modest-sized secondary landslide could significantly drive up the already “high” costs.
Another factor he said to watch is the freshet when the snow and ice melts.
Streicker said the receiver will “talk” with the company that built the pond about the leak.
The News reached out to the receiver on Friday about the leak but didn't get a response by publication.
Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com
