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Mining Environmental Accidents, Pollution, Tailing Dams and Abandoned Mines

‘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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Cancellation of Nickel Investments Should Be a Wake-Up Call for Indonesia – by Krista Shennum (The Diplomat – July 05, 2024)

https://thediplomat.com/

The government’s break-neck drive to exploit its nickel deposits should not come at the expense of human rights and the environment.

On June 24, two multinational mining and mineral processing giants, France-based Eramet and Germany-based BASF, announced that they would cancel plans for a $2.6 billion nickel-cobalt refinery located within the Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park (IWIP), in North Maluku, Indonesia.

The companies cited commercial reasons, but the Indonesian government would be short-sighted to ignore other concerns. In an indirect reference to human rights and environmental concerns with nickel processing operations at IWIP, a BASF spokesperson said the company needs a “secure, responsible, and sustainable supply of critical raw materials.” Implicit in the companies’ statements is that they are concerned about increasing their reputational risk through a new investment at IWIP.

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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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Blood nickel: What electric-vehicle hunger has wrought, and how Canada can help – by Mark Selby (Globe and Mail – July 4, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Mark Selby is the founder and CEO of Canada Nickel Co.

Blood diamonds, blood cobalt, and now blood nickel. Governments leading the global shift toward electric vehicles promise cleaner cities and a new era of sustainable energy and improved resource usage.

But just as governments promote EVs on environmental grounds, manufacturers are forced to source nickel from a region enabling the wanton destruction of ecologically sensitive lands, reckless treatment of workers, and the fundamental deterioration of living conditions. There is only one solution to this problem: the world needs more Canadian nickel.

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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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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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The Dirty, Deadly Price We Pay for Clean Cars – by Janet Paskin, Yang Yang, Naomi Ng and Jessica Beck (Bloomberg News – June 17, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Never miss an episode. Follow The Big Take Asia podcast today.

Indonesia’s nickel business is booming. The metal is a key component in electric car batteries, but its success has a dark side. The country’s nickel mines and processing plants have a history of fatal accidents, with workers being run over by forklifts and burnt to death in smelter fires.

Today on The Big Take Asia, host Janet Paskin speaks with Bloomberg Businessweek editor Matt Campbell about his investigation into the mines. He found that nickel sourced from these plants are present in the supply chain that feeds virtually every major seller of EVs, and is an indispensable part of the car industry’s green revolution.

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EV transition drives Indonesia’s ‘dirty’ nickel boom – by A. Anantha Lakshmi (Financial Times – June 20, 2024)

https://www.ft.com/

Environmentalists accuse Jakarta of prioritising mining of key commodity over nation’s biodiverse rainforests

In just four years, Indonesia’s nickel industry has undergone a transformation — becoming a pivotal supplier of the commodity critical to electric vehicle batteries. But, as its importance grows, so has the south-east Asian nation’s reputation as a producer of “dirty” nickel.

Indonesia is now the world’s dominant supplier of the metal, following a boom triggered by President Joko Widodo’s ban on exports of raw nickel ore, in a bid to force foreign businesses to invest in the country and set up domestic processing plants.

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Canada is ‘missing the mark’ on remediation and reconciliation, says Yellowknives Dene chief – by Liny Lamberink (CBC News North – May 02, 2024)

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

Environmental watchdog released audit on northern contaminated sites this week

A chief of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation says an auditor’s report about contaminated sites shows Canada is “missing the mark” when it comes to remediation and reconciliation in the North.

It’s one perspective northerners are sharing after the federal environmental watchdog released a report Tuesday that scrutinizes how Ottawa has managed contaminated sites in the North. A Yukon mining analyst has also agreed with its finding that longer-term plans are needed for some of the North’s big, abandoned mines.

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Reckless mining oversight – by Editorial Board (Jakarta Post – April 8, 2024)

https://www.thejakartapost.com/

The government seems to care only about the revenue generated from the mineral sectors and ignores the environmental destruction and the plight of the people affected by the related industries.

A recent jaw-droppingly massive corruption case in the tin sector is yet another reminder that the government still lacks the capacity to manage the country’s vast natural resources.

The graft case occurred in the concession areas of state-owned miner PT Timah in Bangka Belitung, which holds the largest tin reserves in the country. The archipelagic province produces 90 percent of the country’s tin, which is mostly under the control of Timah.

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A Nuclear Power Revival Is Sparking a Surge in Uranium Mining – by Jim Robbins (Yale Environment 360 – April 4, 2024)

https://e360.yale.edu/

A push for nuclear power is fueling demand for uranium, spurring the opening of new mines. The industry says new technologies will eliminate pollution from uranium mining, but its toxic legacy, particularly in the U.S. Southwest, leaves many wary of an incipient mining boom.

After sitting dormant since the 1980s, the Pinyon Plain uranium mine began operating in January on the Kaibab National Forest in Arizona, about seven miles south of the Grand Canyon. Thanks to new interest in expanding nuclear power, the price of uranium is on a tear, making undeveloped and long-shuttered mines viable. Pinyon Plain, which has some of the highest-grade uranium ore in the country, is one of the first uranium mines to open in the United States in eight years.

It will not be the last. In the U.S. and around the world, uranium mining is experiencing a revival. At least five producers in the U.S. are reactivating mines in Texas, Utah, Wyoming, and Arizona, all of which closed after the 2011 disaster at Fukushima sent the price of uranium plummeting. Other projects are underway internationally, including new mines planned in Canada, India, and Mongolia.

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