BQE Water operates emergency plant for Victoria Gold

Executive Summary

• BQE Water provided a significant operational update regarding its emergency water treatment services at the Eagle Gold Mine following the 2024 heap leach failure, confirming the safe discharge of over one million cubic meters of clean water.
• The company was selected by the court-appointed receiver to execute the first phase of engineering for a long-term permanent water treatment solution, with a contract signed on November 4, 2025.
• Active emergency operations and discharges are scheduled to cease in November 2025, with a winterization plan to be completed by December 15, 2025, and a restart of clean water production anticipated prior to the spring 2026 freshet.

Key Details

• Emergency Operations Status: BQE Water designed, implemented, and operated an emergency water treatment plant under contract with PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc. (as receiver of Victoria Gold Corp.).
• Discharge Volume: Over one million cubic meters of clean water have been safely discharged into the environment.
• Operational Timeline:
  • Active operations and discharge into the environment are expected to cease in November 2025.
  • Winterization plan completion and site demobilization are expected by December 15, 2025.
  • Restart of water treatment is anticipated prior to the 2026 spring freshet.
• Long-Term Contract:
  • BQE Water submitted a proposal for the design and implementation of a long-term water treatment solution and was selected by the receiver.
  • Contract for the first phase of engineering was entered on November 4, 2025.
  • First phase completion is anticipated by the middle of the first quarter 2026.
• Technical Specifications:
  • The long-term treatment plant will combine multiple new processes to address complex water composition.
  • Includes a process for the removal of cobalt-cyanide complexes to trace levels using ion exchange (developed and pilot-tested by BQE Water in 2025).
  • Includes the use of BQE Water's direct electroreduction of selenium technology, to be deployed if/when required.
  • The design allows for a gradual expansion of treatment stages for cobalt-cyanide, nitrogen species, and selenium.
• Context: The update follows a heap leach failure at the Eagle Gold Mine in 2024, which required an emergency response due to the inability of the pre-existing plant to treat cyanide leach solution to non-toxic effluent standards.

Notable Quotes

• "Expedient implementation of emergency treatment and safe discharge of over one million cubic metres of clean water from Eagle into the environment is one of the success stories of the project. We are also very pleased that our proposal for long-term treatment was selected to provide definitive costs for implementation of the permanent long-term treatment at Eagle, supporting both further stabilization and remediation work at site. BQE Water's seasoned operations team, which integrates operators from a Na-Cho Nyak Dun-owned business, will be ready to restart clean water production in the spring of 2026." — David Kratochvil, President and CEO of BQE Water