Officials in Yukon believe that around 19 million liters of cyanid-contaminated water last year before discovering the problem from a containment pond at the location of a disaster in mining and the water was diluted.
Officials in Yukon believe that around 19 million liters of cyanid-contaminated water were enforced from a content pond at the location of a disaster in mining last year before discovering the problem and water.
Erin Dowd, director of technical services of the ministry, announced on Tuesday in a technical briefing that there is no timeline if the pond on the Eagle Gold mine could be repaired north of Whitehorse.
She said that is necessary.
“There is a strong incentive to fix this pond. It offers an additional 90,000 cubic meters of template. Therefore it will be a priority action,” she said.
The territorial government said that cyanid-contaminated water was taken into the pond for the first time in December, but it was stopped when a leak was suspected.
An explanation states that treated water that does not contain a cyanide was transferred to the pond in early January to dilute the mixture and that these water transfers no longer appear in the pond.
Tyler Williams, a scientist of water resources, said with the briefing that recent test results show that contaminated water has now flows into the nearby Haggart Creek and has been over the guidelines since mid -January.
Mining was closed last year and the operator Victoria Gold Corp. was put into the reception after millions of tons of cyanid-contaminated rocks, which were spilled from a facility in the mine, about 480 kilometers north of Whitehorse.
The chemicals used the mine to extract gold out of ore piles in the so -called pile of leaves.
“The data show us a cumulative effect from the leak of the containment pond and the continuing contamination, which continues to occur from the HEAP exposure failure in Haggart Creek,” said Williams.
In cases where contaminants have exceeded their guidelines for water life, the health of fish and other organisms can have negative effects. For this reason, the continuous monitoring of the water quality, water life and fish health remains important downstream of the mine town. “
The crews continue to release the equivalent of about an Olympic swimming pool per day copper -contaminated water before the upcoming spring snow, from which the government is of the view that the recipient is “critical” to prevent uncontrolled path.
“A large volume of water requires management during the spring melt as well as the facility that is currently outsourced in the pile and the storage pond,” said Dowd.
“A considerable amount of this water requires treatment before they are released into the environment. There is a limit for how much water can be treated every day,” she said.
The government has previously announced that Water's copper mirrors “are not completely compliant with the federal regulations or the water license of the location, even though they meet the requirements for cyanide.
Dowd said copper that the water was added to the water as part of the cyanid removal process.
She said that one of the last phases of the process in which a separate pool is built to remove the copper itself will probably be completed by the end of the month.
This report by Canadian Press was first published on February 18, 2025.
Ashley Joannou, the Canadian press