By Canadian Press

68 dead fish found after contaminated water discharge from Yukon mine disaster site

Aug 9, 2024 | 12:28 PM

WHITEHORSE — Yukon government officials say 68 dead fish have been found after an ore slide and discharge of cyanide contaminated water from the Eagle Gold mine site.

Cameron Sinclair, a Yukon government fisheries biologist, says the fish were discovered last week by the mine’s owner, Victoria Gold, and they’re believed to have died after a release from the mine’s water treatment plant.

Sinclair says the company stopped discharging treated water after finding the dead fish, and the federal Fisheries Department has now ordered the company to build a number of fish barriers to create a “no go zone for fish.”

Brendan Mulligan, a senior scientist with Yukon’s environment department, says there’s “clear evidence” of groundwater contamination, though samples with the highest concentrations of cyanide, up to 10,000 times above aquatic life guidelines, are being “contained on-site.”

Mulligan says the company’s discharge of water from its treatment plant earlier this month to nearby Haggart Creek also resulted in samples showing cyanide levels above guidelines for aquatic life.

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He says his department has spent “enormous amounts of energy” on the Eagle Gold mine disaster, which occurred in late June when about two million tonnes of cyanide-laced ore spilled from the mine’s heap leach facility.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press