A year ago, on June 24, 2024, the Yukon was the scene of one of the worst mining spills in Canada’s history. The disaster not only had environmental and financial consequences, it also caused a profound questioning of the place of the mining industry at the Yukon. Inventory.
A year after the sagging of a part of the leacing basin in heaps of the gold mine Eaglethe report on the causes of the incident is always long overdue.
Consult our file on the collapse of the mine Eagle au Yukon.
The chef of the new Democratic Party (NPD) of the Yukon, Kate White, now demands a public inquiry into the incident, which conducted at the end of the mine and contaminated the watercourse adjacent to the cyanide, disturbing the ecosystem as well as the traditional activities of the Na-Cho Nyäk Dun.
The government and the mining companies had told us that the leachate in heap was safe, we were told that the risks were minimal
she recalls. It opened our eyes.
With hindsight, the politician, who has already worked for a mining, sees in the incident of Victoria Gold The symptom of more serious problems within the industry.
We have seen a lot of scenarios of this kind in the past at the Yukon. Yukon Zinc and the Wolverine mine, for example, ended their activities without restarting their site. It is the Yukonnais who continue to pay for the costs associated with the remediation of these sites. The case of Minto Minerals and the Minto mine was similar.
Currently, the costs that the Yukonnais government will have to pay is estimated at more than $ 220 million, around 10 % of the annual budget in the territory, likes to recall Kate White.
A few months before the territorial elections [qui se tiendront le 3Â novembre prochain]the politician believes that the place of the mining industry, her fallout, but above all, her costs, will be at the heart of the next campaign. Unfortunately, the mining industry has benefited from a pass for too long
she believes.
Due to the situation at the Eagle mine, water and fish from the Haggart stream are still unfit for consumption.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Francis Plourde
Important environmental consequences
Since the accident, Aboriginal people in the region can no longer hunt or fish in the vicinity of the mine. Even a year later, the authorities still report cyanide levels beyond the standards deemed acceptable.
If the water is contaminated, the plants and the fish are contaminated, the fauna below is contaminated and then potentially man
underlines the specialist in restoration of mining sites Guillaume Nielsen, associated with the Coregeo firm.
We saw a lot of dead fish in Haggart Creek Just after the incident and it continued for fairly long periods, so the problem is real.
The anger is such that the head of the NA-Cho Nyäk Dun first nation, Dawna Hope, has demanded, in recent months, a moratorium on mining throughout the region.
The Nyäk Dun first nation chief of Nyäk Dun, Dawna Hope, strongly criticized the Victoria Gold mining and the territorial government’s response in the first weeks of the disaster. (Archives photo)
Photo: Radio-Canada / Camille protected
An engine for the economy
In a territory like the Yukon, whose history is intimately linked to the gold rush, however impossible to reject this essential industry to the local economy.
In 2023, Victoria Gold reported having extracted $ 400 million in gold on site. The day after the disaster, hundreds of employees lost their jobs.
Even for people who do not work directly or indirectly in the mining industry, it had an impact
recalls the director of the House of Mines, Jonas Smith. Restaurants had to modify their opening hours or close their doors, and the airlines had to modify their flight schedules to adapt to the drop in air traffic.
The director of the Yukon House of Mines, Jonas Smith, believes that before its closure, Victoria Gold was a model in terms of environment and collaboration with Aboriginal peoples. With hindsight, he deplores the lack of communication of the company and the firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, which took over the site, the day after the spill.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Francis Plourde
A year later, the economic impact is still felt on a territory level. Since the Mine Operations Stopping Eagleonly one mine of importance, the Keno Hill silver mine, is still active in the territory.
Our economy was doing very well until it happens
does not hesitate to recall the Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources, John Streicker.
The Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources, John Streicker, compares the extent of the crisis at the Yukon following the spill to that of the COVIR. His government had to work tirelessly in the weeks and months that followed in order to control the leak and reassure the Yukonnais.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Francis Plourde
The repercussions associated with the slowdown in industry also had an impact on research. Researcher Guillaume Nielsen, whose industrial research chair in remediation of northern mines at the University of Yukon was funded in part by the industry, lost its funding on 1is last April.
Several bet on a resumption of the activities of the Eagle mine, now controlled by the firm PricewaterhouseCoopers Following the sequestration of the Victoria Gold company, to relaunch the mining sector.
Several questions still pending
The Minister, whose team is still working hard to control the consequences of the spill, recalls the extent of the questions that still remain, a year after the accident, unanswered.
We do not yet know what are the underlying causes of the shift or what will be the solutions to prevent it from happening again or to correct the situation now
he lists. The last question is whether the private sector will wish to take over the mine.
Certainly, the Minister understands the importance of his role and the success of his mission.
It is a major event for the Yukon, but also for Canada. Given our relations with the United States, our desire to move away from fossil fuels and the need to ensure the transition of our energy economy, we will need essential minerals.
Gold is not a critical mineral, but mining is important for critical minerals and gold is important for mining
he underlines.
