Yukon mine in 2024 failure will discharge treated water in preparation for snow melt

The Yukon provincial flag flies on a flag pole in Ottawa, Monday July 6, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

WHITEHORSE — The Yukon government says the mine where a catastrophic storage failure in 2024 led to cyanide-soaked ore contaminating groundwater is now preparing to discharge some treated water in anticipation of the spring snowmelt.

The government says PricewaterhouseCoopers, the receiver of the Eagle Gold Mine near Mayo, has prepared ditches, culverts and pumping systems to divert the spring runoff away from water on-site that contains cyanide.

It says storage ponds at the site still have about 315,000 cubic metres of room and should be capable of handling the large influx of water that’s expected.

The mine suffered a catastrophic heap leach failure in June 2024, spilling about two million tonnes of cyanide-soaked ore, which then contaminated local groundwater.

The Yukon government says the mine has been using interception wells to capture water containing cyanide until it can be treated, and more than 670,000 cubic metres have been collected since last April.

The mine is also still in the process of finding a new buyer, and the government says the receiver is recovering gold from the heap-leach water and selling it to help fund site remediation efforts.