WHITEHORSE, YT – At this mornings update on the Eagle Gold Mine, Yukonners heard from Brendan Mulligan, a senior scientist with the Department of Environment’s Water Resources Branch, who outlined the findings from off-site water quality monitoring that had been collected up to July 24th.
“Over the past few weeks we’ve been observing a pattern of increasing cyanide concentrations in the water collected at sampling locations. We’re now seeing concentrations of WAD cyanide in lower Dublin Gulch that significantly exceed aquatic life guidelines. Samples collected from two stations on Haggert Creek downstream of Dublin Gulch on July 24th, show levels of WAD cyanide moderately above aquatic life guidelines, and the water quality objectives developed for Haggert Creek.” – Brendan Mulligan, Senior Scientist with the Yukon Department of Environment’s Water Resources Branch
Mulligan explains the highest levels of cyanide have been recorded closest to the mine site, while those further away have indicated the contaminates have been diluted in the waterways, resulting in the levels downstream still registering as within the guidelines for aquatic life. He adds that while the levels exceed aquatic life guidelines, they are still within the guidelines for human drinking water.
