en.Wedoany.com Reported - Singapore-based private investment firm Boroo is considering acquiring the Eagle Gold Mine in Yukon, which was shut down due to a severe landslide, potentially offering a revival opportunity for the mine. Boroo has signed an exclusivity agreement with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the receiver for Eagle's former owner Victoria Gold, until July 22, making it the sole potential buyer negotiating for the mine's purchase. The mine is located approximately 375 kilometers north of Whitehorse.
Regarding the potential deal, Nico Harvey, former Technical Services Director at Victoria Gold and current Vice President of Project Development at Silverco Mining, told Northern Miner that Canada has a great mining industry with many top-tier companies possessing the capability, resources, and experience in Yukon to take over this project. It would be great if Yukon could have this project back. Boroo's potential deal comes nearly a year after PwC listed the mine for sale, with bids due by last December. Boroo, which has assets in Peru and Mongolia, produced 265,424 ounces of gold last year. Boroo, PwC, and former Victoria Gold CEO John McConnell did not respond to requests for comment by press time.
The heap leach pad at the Eagle mine experienced a landslide on June 24, 2024, releasing millions of tons of ore and at least 280,000 cubic meters of cyanide solution beyond the containment berm. A massive cleanup followed, and two months later, a court placed Victoria Gold under receivership. No major casualties were reported. Yukon authorities authorized PwC to spend CAD 220 million (USD 160 million) on cleanup. An independent review panel concluded last July that the heap leach pad collapsed due to a lack of monitoring, poor drainage, and excessive pressure and weight.
Boroo has not disclosed the potential purchase price or PwC's asking price. Saskrita Shrestha, a spokesperson for the Yukon government, said in an email response that no offer has been made yet, and if one is submitted, it would require court approval, at which point more information would be provided. The acquisition prospect has drawn local attention. Mike Burke, Vice President of Corporate Development at Sitka Gold, told Northern Miner that his initial reaction was, "Who is Boroo?" Would he like to see Agnico Eagle acquire it? Of course. Any company in Yukon would want that. But after digging deeper, he found they are doing well. What everyone really wants is a legitimate company to come in, study the project, remediate it, and hopefully restart production.
Boroo is known for turning around distressed assets. In 2021, it acquired Barrick Gold's Lagunas Norte mine in Peru for USD 81 million after the mine had been placed on care and maintenance, invested in new processing methods, and restarted gold production. In a press release on April 28, CEO Dulguun Erdenebaatar stated that the team excels where others see limitations, combining deep technical expertise with financial flexibility to act on distressed or undervalued assets, proving that responsible, innovative mining can unlock significant value for shareholders and host communities. PwC screened potential buyers for Eagle last year and invited them to meet with the Yukon government and Indigenous representatives to discuss their plans for the mine. Based on these discussions, advice from its financial advisors, and the consent of the Yukon government, PwC reached an exclusivity agreement with Boroo in late April. The receiver has not publicly disclosed other companies on the shortlist. Government spokesperson Shrestha said such information is typically treated as confidential to protect the integrity of the sales process.
A 2024 PwC report estimated Eagle's total asset value at nearly USD 825 million, but another document from the same year listed approximately USD 458 million in accident-related liabilities, including USD 109 million in reclamation and remediation costs. PwC warned that the final cost of the heap leach incident is uncertain and could be higher. In June 2025, PwC restarted Eagle's adsorption, desorption, and recovery plant, which intermittently recovers and produces gold in a closed-loop system; the landslide did not severely damage this facility. Additionally, PwC sold royalty assets to Franco-Nevada (TSX, NYSE: FNV) in February for approximately USD 55 million to raise funds for remediation. Under the agreement terms, Boroo will conduct further due diligence at Eagle and negotiate sale terms with PwC, while beginning discussions with the Yukon government and the Na-Cho Nyäk Dun First Nation to reach agreements allowing the transaction to proceed and mining operations to restart.
Agentis Capital analyst Michael Gray noted in an April report that Boroo's experience in heap leach operations could enhance its credibility, as its three mines (Lagunas Norte and two in Mongolia) use heap leaching. Gray mentioned that although Boroo has published ESG documents for 2021-2023, the company reported one fatality each at its namesake processing plant in Mongolia in 2022 and at Lagunas Norte in 2023. Meanwhile, the company has strong financing channels, as evidenced by its USD 300 million senior secured notes issued in August last year.
PwC has not released updated estimates of Eagle's existing gold reserves or production potential. Yukon officials said they are unaware of Eagle's current value or cost estimates, but Shrestha noted that the heap leach pad contained approximately 40 million tons of material at the time of the incident. The latest pre-accident assessment was a 2023 updated mine plan, which projected total gold production of 2.05 million ounces over a 12-year mine life, with proven and probable reserves of 124 million tons at a grade of 0.65 grams per ton, containing 2.58 million ounces of gold. The plan estimated Eagle's after-tax net present value (at a 5% discount) at USD 954 million, with an after-tax internal rate of return of 55%, assuming a gold price of USD 1,700 per ounce. Harvey roughly estimated that the heap leach pad itself contained 80,000 to 90,000 ounces of recoverable gold before the incident, some of which spilled beyond the containment berm, and a significant amount of gold in the solution was discharged. Reflecting on the 2024 incident response, Harvey believes the eight-week window Yukon gave Victoria Gold to remediate the mine was too short and consumed substantial resources. Nevertheless, he still considers Eagle a "good asset and a good place" and hopes whoever buys it can bring it back into production. He said that if it can be restarted and running, that's great, showing that it's possible to move past the accident and move forward.
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