Groundwater at Yukon mine shows high cyanide levels

The Yukon government says groundwater samples at the site where a mine’s ore containment facility failed in June “continue to reveal high levels of cyanide.”

In a written update, the Yukon government says tests from Dublin Gulch below the slide at the Eagle Gold mine also show metals such as cobalt, copper, mercury, nickel, silver and selenium in the groundwater.

While the government says the form of mercury found in the groundwater “has low potential for accumulating in the tissues of fish and wildlife,” it says the tests do show that more action is needed to protect the environment near the mine.

Those protections include several planned groundwater interception wells below a safety berm that is now 30 per cent complete, and the statement says work on three of the wells has already begun.

The ore containment facility failure in June caused millions of tonnes of cyanide-contaminated rock to escape.

Mine owner Victoria Gold is in receivership, but the Yukon government says it is in regular communication with the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun situated downstream and current mercury levels in nearby Haggart Creek “do not pose a heightened risk” to residents’ health.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2024.

Chuck Chiang, The Canadian Press