Singapore firm set to buy shut Yukon mine for $140M, promises $1.4B in investment

It’s also expected to provide $104 million in securities to cover reclamation costs when the new mine is eventually shuttered.

The collapse of Eagle Gold’s heap-leach facility released about two million tonnes of cyanide-laced ore and water into the environment, leading to control of the mine being taken over by court-appointed receiver PricewaterhouseCoopers.

At a news conference Thursday, receiver representative Michelle Grant said it was expected to take four years for the mine, about 375 kilometres north of Whitehorse, to be re-permitted so commercial production could start, but the proposed sale to Boroo was a chance to recover public funds.

“It provides a practical path forward for the site and surrounding communities and the Yukon economy,” she said.

Yukon Mines Minister Ted Laking said if the mine is not sold, the annual care and maintenance costs would be about $72 million to taxpayers on top of an estimated $200 million in closure costs.

“While clearly a sale is the ideal outcome, I want to be clear that this agreement does not change the regulatory requirements that must be met before operations can resume,” he said.

“As with any mine in the territory, regulatory approvals will be required before the mine can restart operations.”

An independent review of the collapse found that it was triggered by the failure of a section of the heap leach facility, which was too steep and had a history of poor drainage.

The review said “actions and inactions” of owner Victoria Gold Corp. and third-party contractors contributed to the collapse along with the geomechanical issues.

Laking said 52 of the recommendations in the report have been completed and the final four are “in progress,” and expected to be in place by spring 2027.

Any new operations would also have to satisfy the recommendations, he said.

Laking said the government had increased personnel responsible for mining inspections since the disaster and strengthened licensing criteria.

Minister of the Economy Jen Gehmair said money from the sale would be enough to fully repay the government for funds advanced to pay for emergency work at the site.

Grant said about $105 million came from surety bonds posted by Victoria Gold while about $80 million was put up directly by the Yukon government.

Though the territorial government will be the first to be paid back, it is not the only one owed money.

A document published by the receiver in 2024 lists Victoria Gold as owing US$173 million to secured creditors and another $82 million to unsecured creditors.

Grant said the $140 million from Boroo would be paid to the receiver in instalments at various stages of the process heading toward resuming production.

Any money left after the government is paid back will be available to other creditors as part of a court process, she said.

Gehmair said the investments from Boroo would mean a significant amount of money for Yukon businesses.

“(Boroo) remain willing and interested partners in working with local businesses across the territory to benefit from this investment.” she said.

Boroo said that since it entered the exclusivity agreement in April to potentially buy the site it had deployed “substantial technical, environmental, and financial resources” and come up with its own plan aimed at “stabilizing the site, completing environmental remediation activities and restarting the mine.”

“Our agreement to acquire Victoria Gold and the Eagle Gold Mine marks a pivotal turning point for this foundational Yukon asset,” CEO Dulguun Erdenebaatar said in the statement.

“Over the past year, our technical and environmental teams have spent countless hours on the ground conducting rigorous due diligence to ensure that the Eagle Gold Mine can be restarted responsibly and that the site’s environmental challenges are addressed.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2026

Ashley Joannou, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Singapore firm set to buy shut Yukon mine for $140M, promises $1.4B in investment

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