Whitehorse, YT – With a receiver now in control of Victoria Gold and its assets the Yukon Government says they aim to restore the Eagle Gold Mine site to conditions before the heap leach failure instead of a permanent closure or shutdown of the company.
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) was appointed as receiver on Wednesday, August 14th after the Yukon Government announced they had lost confidence in the ability for Victoria Gold to do the remediation competently.
The company failed to meet the requirements in four separate inspectors’ directions.
Minister of Justice Tracy-Anne McPhee said, during a Yukon Government technical briefing on August 16th, that every option was explored to clean up the site since the heap leach failure.
“We carefully chose this course of action so that Victoria Gold and mining could resume on that site,” said Minister McPhee. “This is not the end of that company, from our point of view… the environmental concerns were simply not being addressed to our satisfaction with the urgency that was necessary.”
Shortly after the receivership took effect the board of directors at Victoria Gold resigned. Minister McPhee stated the decision was made by the board, not by PwC or the Yukon Government.
CEO John McConnell has not yet resigned and pledged to assist with transitioning to new management.
According to court documents, $40 to 50 million will be needed to address immediate concerns at the site within the next 90 days.
Government officials stated that the $103 million in security that the Yukon Government holds with Victoria Gold in security has not been accessed.
The Yukon Government had contracted work to be done on a safety burm at the site which was halted due to stability risks. Deputy Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources Lauren Haney says immediate work will focus on the safety burm and meeting the failed portions of the inspectors’ directions.
“The receivership provides the framework and the opportunity we need to advance the critical work that must be done immediately in terms of environmental protection and remediation,” said Haney.
The Yukon Party recently called for an immediate recall of the Legislative Assembly for a special sitting where questions and concerns can be raised regarding the receivership decision. The opposition has not publically commented on the incident since the heap leach failure.
In a press release from August 15th, the opposition states that they believe in keeping Victoria Gold in charge where they can pay for and conduct the remediation work.
The Na-Cho Nyäk Dun First Nation currently has a separate receiver application before the courts.
