Victoria Gold's Eagle mine in Yukon, Canada has had a history of heap leach issues since starting production in 2019, including multiple cyanide leaks, including a 17,000l leak in July 2021.

The company's share price fell more than 80% after trading resumed following a halt, wiping more than C$400 million off its market capitalisation after it reported a heap leach failure resulted in a 1.3km slide. The primary leach pad can hold up to 90Mt of ore.

Cyanide is used to leach gold from ore piled onto a heap leach pad. The July 2021 cyanide leak happened after a pipeline flange ruptured and occurred 500m from a waterbody. It followed an earlier, smaller spill that saw 70l of cyanide released in March 2021, which earned the company a $460 fine.

Successive cyanide spills in the past suggested something was not right with either the heap leach design or its operation, with the company having successfully resisted efforts to increase environmental bonding.

After the July 2021 spill, the Yukon Water Board ordered the company to put up C$105 million to increase its environmental bond on the grounds that it had breached its water licence. This was $74 million more than the company originally bonded. 

However, this attempt was knocked back by the Yukon Supreme Court in October 2022 after the company complained this amount was unfair.

Victoria Gold argued it would incur about $1.2 million in annual carrying costs associated with the water board's security, or about $400,000 to $500,000 more per year than the security determined by the Yukon government's mineral resources branch. Justice Karen Wenckebach agreed and said Victoria Gold would "suffer irreparable harm" if it was ordered to post extra security because it wouldn't be able to recoup added costs, reported CBC.

The Yukon Conservation Society (YCS) raised concerns about the project after 2021 incident, but has yet to comment on the heap leach failure.

Back in 2021, YCS mining analyst Lewis Rifkind, said "having a spill this size should definitely be a wake-up call," and that the spill may point to a design flaw. "We're starting to see a record of spills happening at this particular facility, so it starts to raise questions either about the original design or the ongoing operation of the site. Are we at that stage here where we could have an ill-conceived design that's causing issues?" he said.

Eagle produced 166,730oz of gold in 2023 and 29,580oz in the March quarter.