Eagle Gold is located in central Yukon, 375 km north of Whitehorse and 85 km north of Mayo. It sits within the Mayo mining district, part of the Dublin Gulch property, which hosts meta-sedimentary rocks of Cambrian-age Hyland Group sediments intruded by a mid-Cretaceous Tombstone plutonic suite.
The Eagle Gold Mine operates as a significant open-pit mining project, targeting a low sulphidation epithermal deposit. This geological setting is characterized by its high-tonnage, lower-grade nature, which necessitates efficient large-scale extraction methods. In 2023, the operation achieved a production output of 5.2 tonnes of gold (Au), supported by a robust processing infrastructure that handled approximately 9 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of ore.
The mine’s economic viability is underpinned by a substantial resource base and a controlled cost structure. As of the current reporting, Eagle Gold boasts Proven and Probable Reserves of 84 tonnes of Au at an average grade of 0.65 g/t. When expanding to include Measured, Indicated, and Inferred Mineral Resources, the total climbs to 148 tonnes of Au with a similar average grade of 0.63 g/t. To maintain profitability within these margins, the mine manages a cash cost of 1,218 US$/oz, reflecting the operational efficiency required for a bulk-tonnage site.
Processing at the site is versatile, utilizing a combination of heap leaching and carbon-in-leach (CIL) circuits to maximize metal extraction. While the current throughput is 9 Mtpa, the facility maintains a total processing capacity of 13 Mtpa. With a metallurgical recovery rate of 78.4%, the mine effectively balances the speed of heap leaching with the thoroughness of CIL technology to ensure a steady supply of gold to the market.
The mine suffered a catastrophic heap leach pad failure in June 2024. The collapse released a large amount of cyanide-laced mining solution into the environment, which was a serious environmental and operational disaster. This led to the suspension of operations and significant legal and regulatory consequences for Victoria Gold Corp, which subsequently went into receivership.
