The government of Yukon Territory said elevated levels of cyanide were found in a waterway near Victoria Gold's Eagle Mine, which had a heap leach failure last week.

On June 24, the heap leach pad, which uses cyanide solution, failed at the Eagle gold mine in Yukon, Canada. Victoria Gold confirmed there had been damage to infrastructure and that "a portion of the failure has left containment" . The company temporarily suspended the mine while it assessed the situation.

Yukon's government is still investigating the cause of the failure but said it involved a slide of the ore stacked in the heap leach facility, which caused ore to spill over the embankment at the base of the heap facility.

The government estimated that around 300Ml of cyanide solution spilled from containment and expressed concerns about the heap's stability, at a press conference on Thursday. Authorities said a "significant" risk of a further slide at the mine exists.

It also found elevated levels of cyanide in a creek near the mine. A sample from Haggart Creek indicated 0.04mg/l, above permitted levels of 0.005mg/l, which "could potentially affect fish," according to Yukon mining minister John Streicker.

The government told residents to stay away from the creek as a "precautionary recommendation".

Just a few hours before the press conference, Victoria Gold released an update that continued water quality sampling at multiple points downstream of the site had not detected any cyanide.

In the update, the miner added that it had received notices of default from lenders and that production at the Eagle Mine remains suspended.

Independent inquiry

Earlier this week, Yukon First Nations called for an independent public inquiry into the incident. 

The First Nation of the Na-Cho Nyäk Dun demanded an immediate halt of all mining activity on its traditional lands and, together with the western Yukon White River First Nation, called for an independent investigation. 

"Once a plan is in place to deal with the immediate crisis, we are calling on the Yukon government to hold a fully transparent public inquiry into why this disaster took place, to find out what failed Yukoners, and to develop regulatory measures and recommendations to ensure that this kind of disaster can never happen again in our territory," White River First Nation Chief Bessie Chasse said.

Since starting production in 2019, the Eagle Mine has had a history of heap leach issues, including multiple cyanide leaks.