The Victoria Gold team worked through a frigidly cold Yukon winter to construct the Eagle open-pit gold mine. Here, work is under way on the primary crusher in 2018. Courtesy of Victoria Gold

On Sept. 18, 2019, John McConnell celebrated the first gold pour at the Eagle mine with his Victoria Gold team. The milestone event gave him the chance to briefly reflect on the 12 years that had passed since he first got involved with the central Yukon project. “It was very satisfying. Not many companies have had that opportunity,” said the Victoria Gold CEO.