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Canada Mining – North of 60

Yukon contemplating seizing control of Eagle mine site as Victoria Gold runs low on storage for contaminated water – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – July 19, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

The Yukon government is contemplating seizing control of Victoria Gold Corp.’s Eagle mine site, as doubts grow about the company’s ability to prevent further environmental damage after a catastrophic heap-leach failure last month.

Four million tonnes of cyanide-laced rocks collapsed June 24 at an outdoor heap-leach processing facility at the gold mine in central Yukon. Two million tonnes of material breached the company’s containment zone and elevated levels of cyanide were later found in a water body adjacent to the mine.

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‘Drug Disneyland’ part of lax safety culture in shadow of Victoria Gold accident, workers say – by Blair McBride (Northern Miner – July 17, 2024)

https://www.northernminer.com/

A landslide that’s stopped production at Victoria Gold’s (TSXV: VGCX) Eagle mine in the Yukon may have been inevitable due to the company’s weak approach to safety protocols, current and former employees say.

Individuals who approached The Northern Miner to share their experiences of working at Eagle, told of neglected incidents and repairs, attempts to subvert injury reports and widespread drug and alcohol use in a supposedly dry camp. They asked not to be named to avoid career repercussions.

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Recent spill stirs speculation about future of Yukon mine – by Sara Connors (APTN News – July 16, 2024)

https://www.aptnnews.ca/

Victoria Gold recently indicated it’s facing financial uncertainty

Some environmental advocacy groups are speculating the company behind the Eagle Gold Mine – site of a cyanide spill in Yukon last month – may soon go bankrupt. Mine owner Victoria Gold released a statement on July 12 indicating it is facing uncertainty regarding the future of the mine.

“There can be no assurance that the Company will receive authorizations necessary to restart production,” it said, “or that the Company will have the financial resources necessary to repair damage to equipment and facilities or remediate impacts caused by the incident or restart production.”

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Yukon gov’t orders Victoria Gold to provide plans aimed at treating, monitoring contaminated water – by Julien Greene (CBC News North – July 10, 2024)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/

Government spokesperson says company submitted plans, which aren’t public

The Yukon government has given Victoria Gold marching orders to deal with toxic chemicals in and around its Eagle mine, following last month’s major failure of a heap leach pad at the site.

A new report written by a government inspector states there’s “reasonable grounds” to believe the company has violated laws that govern water use.

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Yukon minister says cyanide found in creek near mine spill, after firm issues denial – by Ashley Joannou, (Bloomberg/Canadian Press – July 5, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

Elevated levels of cyanide have been detected in a waterway after an equipment failure and slide of ore at Victoria Gold’s Eagle Mine last week, the Yukon’s minister of energy, mines and resources said.

A government expert said at the same briefing on Thursday that 300 million litres of cyanide solution had escaped containment in the June 24 incident and there was “significant” risk of a further slide at the mine.

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Ekati boss envisions another 25 years of mining – by Derek Neary (NNSL.com – July 4, 2024)

https://www.nnsl.com/

Agnico Eagle hits new marks at Meliadine and Meadowbank

The Northwest Territories’ economy continues to lean heavily on diamond production, which is waning overall, and, to a lesser extent, rare earths. In Nunavut, gold and iron ore are the backbone of GDP. Here are some noteworthy occurrences from operating mining companies in both territories.

Burgundy Diamond Mines

Burgundy Diamond Mines, owner of Ekati, reported a major jump in carats sold in its first quarter report for 2024. Its 1.32 million carats sold played a central part in the $117 million (U.S.) in revenues generated for the quarter. The total yield was 1.15 million carats, down from 1.18 million a year earlier.

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First Nation in Yukon calls for halt of mining on its traditional territory after Eagle gold mine accident – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – July 4, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

A First Nation in Yukon is calling for a stop to mining in its traditional territory as uncertainty swirls over the scale of environmental damage caused by the failure of a gold processing plant.

Giant piles of cyanide-laced rocks collapsed June 24 at a heap leach facility at the Eagle gold mine in central Yukon operated by Victoria Gold Corp., triggering a landslide that likely released toxic cyanide into the environment.

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Rio Tinto completes largest off-grid solar plant build in Canada’s north – by Staff (Mining.com – July 2, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) said on Tuesday its 100% owned Diavik diamond mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories (NWT) has successfully completed the installation of its 3.5 megawatt capacity solar power plant.

The project represents the largest off-grid solar power plant across Canada’s territories, the Australian miner said. The Diavik mine is located about 200 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle, at the bottom of Lac de Gras.

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First Nation concerned Victoria Gold, Yukon government playing down impact of Eagle mine rockslide – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – June 29, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Dawna Hope, chief of the Na-Cho Nyak Dun First Nation, is particularly worried about possible contamination of drinking water

The First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun is concerned that Victoria Gold Corp. and the Yukon government are soft-pedalling the impact of a suspected large-scale cyanide spill this week at a gold mine in the territory.

Giant piles of cyanide-laced rocks collapsed on Monday at an outdoors heap leach gold processing facility at the Eagle gold mine in central Yukon, triggering a landslide that likely released the toxic chemical into the environment.

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Gahcho Kué diamond mine surpasses $2 billion spent with NWT and Indigenous businesses – by Marilyn Scales (Canadian Mining Journal – June 26, 2024)

https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

De Beers Group and Mountain Province Diamonds announced that their joint venture Gahcho Kué diamond mine has surpassed the $2-billion spending threshold with Northwest Territories and Indigenous business.

The milestone represents 61% of the total $3.2 billion spent on the project since 2015 when construction began. Local businesses supply welding, transportation logistics, trucking, passenger and cargo flights, labour, and camp catering.

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A tale of two territorial economies: Generator versus stabilizer – by Derek Neary (NNSL.com – June 27, 2024)

https://www.nnsl.com/

Nunavut’s qamutik hitched to growing mining revenues; NWT accentuates upside of big government

The tale of two territories remains divergent. Nunavut’s 3.4 per cent growth in gross domestic product in 2023 was the strongest in the country, according to initial data from Statistics Canada in May.

The usual players were front and centre. Mining’s share of Nunavut’s GDP continues to expand, reaching a record high 46.7 per cent in 2023, up significantly from 28.5 per cent in 2019. All of that gold and iron extraction — and the related spin offs — represented $1.37 billion for the economy last year, a slight increase from $1.33 billion in 2022.

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Failure of Victoria Gold processing plant in Yukon spurred by rock collapse inside gold mine – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – June 27, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

An internal rock collapse at a gold mine in the Yukon was a major factor in the collapse of a gold processing plant operated by Victoria Gold Corp., The Globe and Mail has learned.

Whitehorse-based Victoria Gold on Monday said that its heap leach pad had failed at its Eagle gold mine, and that part of the infrastructure had breached the containment region, raising the possibility of environmental damage from cyanide leaking into the environment.

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‘Heap leach failure’ leads to slide at Yukon’s Eagle gold mine, no reported injuries (CBC News North – June 24, 2024)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/

Operations halted at Victoria Gold’s Eagle gold mine

A slide after the failure of a heap leach pad at Victoria Gold’s Eagle mine has halted operations at the site in central Yukon.

In a news release on Monday, Victoria Gold confirmed that operations have been temporarily suspended while the situation is assessed. “At this early stage, it can be confirmed that there has been some damage to infrastructure and a portion of the failure has left containment,” the release said.

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Federal gov’t, Saskatchewan swipe sale of N.W.T. rare earth metals from Chinese buyer – by Rose Danen (CBC News North – June 19, 2024)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/

Vital Metals sells stockpile to Saskatchewan Research Council for $3.3M

Vital Metals announced Monday that it’s selling its stockpiled rare earth material to the Saskatchewan Research Council for $3.3 million. This material comes from the North T deposit at the Nechalacho mine, 110 kilometres from Yellowknife.

Natural Resources Canada, along with Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, directly facilitated this transaction, which has the effect of keeping rare earth materials out of Chinese hands.

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Sean Boyd built Canada’s largest miner. Now he’s fighting for the nation’s Arctic sovereignty – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – June 20, 2024)

https://financialpost.com/

The longtime leader of Agnico Eagle is newly focused on his vision of how industry and government can partner to develop the North

Sean Boyd has spent the past four decades building Toronto-based Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. into Canada’s largest mining company and the world’s second-largest gold miner.

Now, having “retired” in December and transitioned to company chair from executive chair, he is making frequent visits to Ottawa to push the federal government to more aggressively assert sovereignty over the Canadian Arctic, where Agnico has built three mines (two are currently producing) and is planning a fourth project.

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