US EditionYukon disaster one of two ‘most catastrophic’ in heap-leach mining history: expert
YUKON, JUL 8 – The heap-leach failure released about two million tonnes of cyanide-soaked ore, prompting 50 safety recommendations from the independent review board, officials said.
- An ore slope failed at the Eagle Gold Mine in central Yukon in June 2024, contaminating a local creek and groundwater.
- The failure occurred after large-scale liquefaction caused by poor ore quality, an over-steepened slope, and a rising water table.
- The incident released nearly two million tonnes of ore containing cyanide and was identified as one of the two most severe heap-leaching failures in the past 45 years.
- The independent review board released 50 recommendations in early July 2025, with Mark Smith stating, "none of the recommendations are particularly expensive."
- Yukon officials are reviewing the report, while Smith hopes the findings will improve surveillance and guide safer heap-leach practices industry-wide.
30 Articles
30 Articles
Yukon disaster one of two ‘most catastrophic’ in heap-leach mining history: expert
An engineer tasked with reviewing the spill of about two million tonnes of cyanide-soaked ore at a Yukon gold mine says it was one of the two “most catastrophic failures” in the 45-year history of the heap-leaching mining process.
Winnipeg Free Press
Yukon disaster one of two 'most catastrophic' in heap-leach mining history: expert
Breaking News, Sports, Manitoba, Canada
An engineer responsible for examining the spill of approximately two million tonnes of cyanide-filled ore into a Yukon gold mine states that it is one of the two "most catastrophic collapses" of the 45-year history of the heap leaching process. Mark Smith states that these two disasters last year, the other one in Turkey, "would define the next 10 to 20 years for heap leaching practices," which consist of extracting minerals from ore piles by po…
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