Receiver planning sale of Yukon gold mine involved in contaminant release disaster

The Eagle Gold Mine site, north of Mayo, Yukon. Photo by Handout/Yukon Government/The Canadian Press files

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The court-appointed receiver of a Yukon gold mine that suffered a catastrophic heap-leach facility failure last year said it plans to sell the mine and will be seeking approval within the week to start the process.

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In its fifth receiver’s report issued earlier this month, PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc. said it will seek court approval for a sale process for the Eagle Gold Mine near Mayo, Yukon, in a motion scheduled to be heard Wednesday in an Ontario court.

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Eagle Gold Mine was the site last June where a containment failure at the heap-leach facility released about two-million tonnes of cyanide-laced ore and water into the environment.

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“The Yukon Government in its capacity as receivership lender …, the lending syndicate and the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun were consulted in the development of the Eagle Mine sale process, and each provided feedback to the Receiver,” PricewaterhouseCoopers said in its latest report summary, adding each submission was “carefully considered” in finalizing the proposed sale process.

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“The Receivership Lender (the Yukon government) has confirmed that it is satisfied with the form and substance of the proposed Eagle Mine sale process and supports the approval of the sale process at this time.”

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In an email, the territory’s government confirmed the receiver is planning to begin a sale process by July for the Eagle Gold Mine, if it were to be approved by the court.

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But the territory also said it is “premature to say what the process will look like,” stating that it will likely be “robust, transparent and fair” since it is subject to court supervision.

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“The Government of Yukon is a key stakeholder as the main mining regulator and lender to the Receiver, and it will ensure that the interests of Yukoners are protected and communicated to the Receiver,” the government’s statement said.

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“Right now, the focus of the government and the Receiver is to address environmental remediation and site safety.”

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The Yukon government said earlier this month that the work is continuing at the mine site to manage additional water from the spring snowmelt, while water contaminated from the failure is being treated and discharged.

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PricewaterhouseCoopers was made receiver of the mine last year by an Ontario court through an application by the Yukon government.

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The proposed sale process timeline listed in the latest receiver’s report said the plan is for an initial bid deadline of Aug. 6, with the deadline for selecting qualified bids on Aug. 20.

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The process would then move to its second phase, where due diligence on qualified bidders would be completed by Oct. 15, with a selection of the successful bid for the mine on Nov. 5 and closing on Dec. 31, pending court approval.