The discovery of 68 dead fish downstream from the Eagle Gold Mine earlier this month may be associated with the on-site water treatment process used by Victoria Gold Corp.
That was one of the uptakes this morning from the Yukon government’s latest technical briefing on the mine site disaster.
Dr. Mary Vanderkop, the government’s chief veterinary officer, said the deaths of the fish were “completely consistent with what we expect from cyanide poisoning.”
On June 24, the heap leach pad collapsed, triggering a landslide at the site north of Mayo.
The mine has been shut down since that time – throwing approximately 600 people out of work and creating fears of a widespread environmental catastrophe.
The dead fish were a mix of Arctic grayling and sculpins, according to fisheries expert Cameron Sinclair. They were found following a discharge of treated water from the plant early this month.
The water discharged for approximately a day-and-a-half between July 31 and Aug. 3. The dead fish were noticed Aug. 2.
The carcasses remain in the hands of Victoria Gold, which owns the mine site.
The discovery of the dead fish brought in the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), whose officials have ordered the company to carry out several mitigation measures.
Those measures include seven fish barriers around Haggart Creek. The company has been ordered to salvage what fish it can from the affected waters and relocate them.
The fish showed signs they could have been poisoned by the cyanide runoff from the plant, but it’s not entirely clear, according to the government workers on the panel for this morning’s briefing.
Cyanide poisoning kills fish very quickly. It leaves little in the way of lingering traces behind as it breaks down in the water.
The levels of cyanide in water samples in three nearby sites were several times higher than the previous week.
None of the panelists could definitively say whether something went wrong with the water treatment process. Other government officials could not provide an answer by this afternoon’s Yukon Star story posting deadline.
However, the cyanide levels at the site and its storage facilities exceed the guidelines for harming aquatic life by 10,000 times, according to water expert Brendan Mulligan.
Dr. Sudit Ranade, the Yukon’s medical officer of health, said once again the area’s drinking water is not at risk. He has been repeating that assessment for several weeks now without deviating from it.
Meanwhile, the government has yet to start building a safety berm around the mine site – something it called “crucial” three weeks ago.
According to Holly Dalrymple, a spokesperson for the Department of Environment, the government is currently working to build a safety berm on-site.
“We are working to co-ordinate certain safety requirements under workplace health and safety regulations so our third-party contractors can do this work. In the meantime, we are in the process of mobilizing contractors to begin the groundwater well construction work in an area of reduced worker health and safety risk,” Dalrymple said.
“The berm will create a safe working zone, which will help to ensure that groundwater monitoring and interception wells can be installed safely.”
Dalrymple added “we are taking this measure after the company did not comply with our directions to begin work on the berm. We won’t be able to speak to the completion date until we are able to co-ordinate certain safety requirements under workplace health and safety regulations so our third-party contractors can do this work.
“But we expect the work to take about two weeks to complete.”
Jordan Owens, a spokesperson for the cabinet communications staff, added “I just want to emphasize how important it is that workers be able to access the area safely to do this work.
“We are taking on this work because the company has refused to do so, and we want to make sure that the folks who will do the work aren’t being put at unnecessary risk.”
