By Canadian Press

Off-site water tests show uptick in cyanide in water downstream from Yukon mine slide

Aug 1, 2024 | 12:26 PM

WHITEHORSE — Yukon government officials say some water samples taken downstream from the site of the Eagle Gold mine show cyanide levels that “significantly exceed” guidelines for aquatic life.

Brendan Mulligan, a senior scientist with the Yukon’s Department of Environment, says there’s been a “pattern of increasing cyanide levels” in water samples taken close to the site of the mine since a slide of contaminated ore in June.

He says samples taken further downstream show lower levels of the chemical due to dilution, and concentrations don’t go above drinking water guidelines.

Mulligan says groundwater sampling hasn’t been done because of safety concerns over instability at the site of the mine disaster, where the mine’s heap leach facility failed, causing a massive slide of cyanide-contaminated ore and release of millions of litres of cyanide solution used in the gold extraction process.

He says groundwater monitoring will begin once it’s deemed safe, and officials continue to collaborate with the mine’s owner, Victoria Gold Corp., and the Na-Cho Nyak Dun First Nation, whose territory the mine site is on.

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Cameron Sinclair, a senior fisheries biologist, says officials are monitoring both long- and short-term effects on fish populations in the nearby Haggart Creek, and tissue samples collected from fish have been sent to a lab for heavy metal accumulation testing.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published August 1, 2024.

The Canadian Press