“We selected this plan of action in order that Victoria Gold and mining may resume at this web site,” Yukon’s Legal professional Basic Tracy-Anne McPhee stated in a press briefing. “We had no intention of ending the work of that company, however the environmental considerations have been merely not being addressed to our satisfaction.”
The Canadian firm suspended operations at Eagle Mine in June following a failure at its heap leach facility, the place mined ore is stacked into piles and sprinkled with cyanide-laced water. Since then, Yukon’s authorities has stated it has recognized elevated ranges of cyanide in close by waterways that has killed wildlife. Victoria Gold has disputed these claims.
The appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers as receiver of Victoria Gold and its belongings on Wednesday adopted weeks of mitigation efforts on the web site. The receiver will undertake additional mitigation work on the mine web site with funding from the Yukon, in response to the federal government, although it didn’t present a timeline on the clean-up effort. The federal government stated the cash superior for the efforts will represent a debt that will probably be recovered from Victoria Gold’s belongings.
“A scarcity of motion by Victoria Gold left us with severe considerations concerning the heap leach failure,” stated McPhee.
Victoria Gold’s board of administrators resigned following the receivership placement on Wednesday. Chief Govt Officer John McConnell informed Canada’s CBC Information on Thursday he thinks the receivership is “completely pointless.”
The corporate didn’t instantly reply on Friday to a request for remark.
(By Jacob Lorinc)