A spill of approximately two million tonnes of cyanide-soaked ore at Yukon's Eagle Gold Mine in June 2024 has been identified by engineer Mark Smith as one of the two "most catastrophic failures" in the 45-year history of heap-leach mining. An independent review board, including Smith, found that poor ore quality, over-steepened slopes, and a rising water table led to the massive liquefaction and failure. The mine, previously operated by Victoria Gold Corp., has been non-operational since the collapse and was placed in receivership in August 2024. The board's report, released in early July 2025, makes 50 recommendations to improve industry practices and prevent future disasters.
Yukon gold mine spill one of two ‘most catastrophic failures’ in heap-leach mining history, expert says
Canada
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TL;DR: Key points with love ❤️A spill of approximately two million tonnes of cyanide-soaked ore at Yukon's Eagle Gold Mine in June 2024 has been identified by engineer Mark Smith as one of the two "most catastrophic failures" in the 45-year history of heap-leach mining. An independent review board, including Smith, found that poor ore quality, over-steepened slopes, and a rising water table led to the massive liquefaction and failure. The mine, previously operated by Victoria Gold Corp., has been non-operational since the collapse and was placed in receivership in August 2024. The board's report, released in early July 2025, makes 50 recommendations to improve industry practices and prevent future disasters.
Trending- 1 June 2024: The spill of cyanide-soaked ore occurred at the Eagle Gold Mine.
- 2 August 2024: Victoria Gold Corp. was placed in receivership.
- 3 Early July 2025: The independent review board released its report with 50 recommendations.
- Contamination of a local creek and groundwater
- Mine closure
- Victoria Gold Corp. placed in receivership
- Cost burden on Yukon taxpayers for cleanup
- Recommendations for improved industry practices to prevent future failures
What: A spill of about two million tonnes of cyanide-soaked ore occurred at the Eagle Gold Mine. Engineer Mark Smith described it as one of the two "most catastrophic failures" in heap-leach mining history. An independent review board identified several underlying causes. The mine has not operated since the collapse, and Victoria Gold Corp. was placed in receivership. The review board released a report with 50 recommendations.
When: The spill occurred in June 2024. Victoria Gold Corp. was placed in receivership in August 2024. The review board's report was released in early July 2025.
Where: Eagle Gold Mine in Yukon, about 85 kilometres north of Mayo. Another catastrophic failure occurred in Turkey.
Why: The failure was caused by poor quality of ore, "over-steepened" slope, a rising water table, and "almost no surveillance," leading to the large-scale liquefaction of saturated ore.
How: Large-scale liquefaction of saturated ore triggered the massive failure in a matter of 10 seconds.