Victoria Gold has received an application for receivership from the Yukon government for its Eagle gold mine following a heap leach failure at the site on June 24.
The application, which was delivered via court petition, will be appealed, the Whitehorse-headquartered company said.
The Yukon government is seeking appointment of a receiver over the property and the company as well as related relief under the outlines of the Courts of Justice Act (Ontario). On August 14, the Ontario Superior Court appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers as its appointed receiver.
According to a report in Yukon News, Victoria fell behind on clean-up projects ordered by regulators following the initial landslide that damaged the heap leach facility. At an August 16 briefing, the Superior Court told the news outlet it does not want to put the miner out of business or rush Eagle to an idle and reclamation; instead, it would like to see the mine restored to a condition similar to before the landslide.
“This legal action gives us a pathway to use the assets of the company responsible for the environmental damage to pay for the cost of addressing that damage. The Government of Yukon has agreed to advance the funds necessary for this urgent work, but the company’s own assets and funds will be used first by the receiver, Yukon justice minister Tracy-Anne McPhee told the paper.
“Once those have been exhausted, the funds advanced by the Yukon government will be a debt owed to the government, and we will have a priority charge to recover them if and when the assets of Victoria Gold are sold by the receiver under its court-ordered powers.”
Eagle is part of Victoria’s Dublin Gulch gold property, located in central Yukon, north of Whitehorse.
Sources: Victoria Gold and Yukon News