Businesses are owned by the First Nation’s development corporation and citizens

CBC North: Businesses owned by the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyӓk Dun’s development corporation and citizens are collectively owed at least $9.3 million by Victoria Gold Corp, according to figures released by the receiver in charge of the company’s assets.

The amounts owed to creditors were provided in a statement from PricewaterhouseCoopers. 

The figures illustrate the economic fallout of June’s heap leach failure at Victoria Gold’s Eagle mine near Mayo, with a majority of the debt coming through unsecured credit.

Businesses connected to Na-Cho Nyӓk Dun include the NND Summit Camp, of which the Na-Cho Nyӓk Dun Development Corporation owns a majority stake, and Northern Cascades, which is owned by FNNND citizen Kyle Mervyn, the grandson of former chief Simon Mervyn.

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The true financial impact for the First Nation and its citizens is still largely unknown, said Chief Dawna Hope. 

“We really feel that the actual financial and economic loss is unknown and it will also burden the taxpayer for decades, if not generations to come,” she said.

Hope adds that the financial burden is also being felt by other First Nations such as the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation and First Nations in Alaska, who are still monitoring the impacts of the heap leach failure downstream.

Under Yukon law, companies can file for a miners lien, within 45 days of a mine closure. However, so far only two companies owned by FNNND or its citizens have filed miner’s liens: Mayo Fuel Supply and NND Summit Camp.

The decision to file a miner’s lien can be costly, because the process of filing a claim and hiring lawyers can often be difficult for smaller businesses.

Mervyn’s company, Northern Cascades, ultimately decided against filing a lien due to the further financial impact it could have on his company’s workers.

“I had a choice to make and I stand by it,” Mervyn said. “When it comes to the decision of paying your guys or pursuing miners liens, I’d rather pay the guys out.”

Northern Cascades is a Whitehorse-based construction firm that relied largely on work from Victoria Gold. The construction company is currently owed more than $685,000.

Mervyn said his company has been able to pick up smaller jobs, such as conducting right of way clearing for the First Nation, but they don’t make up for the loss of business from Eagle.

According to the statement from PwC, NND Summit Camps is owed more than $436,000. Tutchone Air, a joint partnership between the development corporations of Na-Cho Nyӓk Dun, Selkirk, White River and Kluane First Nations, is also owed over $31,000 in unsecured credit.

Tutchone Air is also owed an unspecified amount in secured credit by Victoria Gold. As it stands, the company is currently leasing heavy equipment to PwC to aid in the construction of a safety berm at the mine.

Meanwhile, money owed through revenue sharing agreements with many of the companies working for Victoria Gold that will have the most significant impact on the Na-Cho Nyӓk Dun Development Corporation, said CEO Maggie Dumkee.

She said the economic loss “definitely affects our current fiscal year bottom line in a significant way” but the corporation is not at risk of failure.

Dumkee said the development corporation has recently been moving away from investments in mining companies.

About the Author: Liam Baker, Reporter

Liam Baker is a reporter for CBC Yukon. You can reach him at liam.baker@cbc.ca