VICTOR PIPE exclusive story
By Bruce MacKinnon
ATTAWAPISKAT/The Daily Press
De Beers Canada is on track to begin production of gem quality diamonds at their Victor Project near Attawapiskat by 2006 if the results of this year¹s drilling program continue to show promise. In a rare move, De Beers allowed The Daily Press on site to witness their preparations to begin to move a buried mountain, just days before the base
camp was to break up before the spring thaw. The site is in the muskeg, 90 kilometres west of Attawapiskat, 300 kilometres up the James Bay coast from Moosonee. Attawapiskat First Nation Chief Theresa Hall and Coun. Theresa Linklater were also part of the tour.
A prospector¹s find
In 1987, while prospecting for De Beers in the area, summer student and future company geologist Brad Wood went fishing during a break. As in most prospecting stories, good fortune joined him on the trip. He stumbled upon kimberlite rocks on the surface of a small island in the middle of the Attawapiskat River, only a few kilometres from the cluster of kimberlites containing Victor. ³As a result they paid for my last year of schooling and then gave me a career,² Wood said.
The company drilled four holes but didn¹t return to the find until 1995 and didn¹t start drilling on Victor until 1997. In 1998, a small trench was made into the kimberlite for a bulk sample of about 300 tonnes. A more extensive
drilling pattern began in 1999.
The long road from discovery to production has to include a feasibility study, which they were completing as the region began to thaw in early April 2003.
Multi-million dollar project
Now, roughly $60 million later, De Beers is on the verge of production. Many hurdles remain, but hopes are that by January 2004, site capture will begin. The capture entails the clearing of brush and leveling of outcroppings for
the skeleton of infrastructure for the mine and mill. By January 2005, the plan calls for construction to begin on the mill, living quarters, offices and associated buildings for the mine.
The hurdles to get to production are not small, but neither is their determination to overcome them. The revenue per tonne is estimated to be $94 Can., lowest for all their proposed Canadian projects. But hopes are several
of the other kimberlites around Victor will feed the mill.
First and foremost for the company, is their policy to involve the communities they will impact with their work, said Jeremy Wyeth, Victor Project vice-president.
Even before exploration begins, the nearby communities are notified of their intentions, he said. ³All levels of government have told us that our approach to the communities
is unprecedented,² Wyeth said. ³We will never go ahead without the full support of the community.
³It¹s the company¹s policy to hire aboriginal peoples in the area and to encourage those in the community who want to, to become entrepreneurs.²
The long road ahead
The winter project in December 2003-2004 will only continue if the company passes internal hurdles as well. ³We have to negotiate an impact benefit agreement with Attawapiskat First Nation, the De Beers Group board has to give the green light, the environmental impact assessment has to be approved and obtain the necessary operating permits from the province,² Wyeth said.
Since the rock formations which contain the diamonds aren¹t beside a major highway or a traditionally accessible region, four months of -30 or -40 C temperatures are a significant ally. That same time frame also creates unique challenges.
The base camp of about 80-100 workers is on the go 24/7, with helicopters and small planes flying in daily. Trucks and quad-track tractors are constantly travelling the over 100-kilometre winter road to Attawapiskat at night if it becomes too warm during the day. Base contains dozens of wood-framed tents with wooden floors and may be remote, but didn¹t resemble ³the old days.² With modern conveniences like electric heat, indoor pluming, hot water, computers, satellite phones and satellite TV, the employees feel almost at home.
³The workers all seem to happy with how they¹re treated, including training on the job with everything from chain saws to drilling equipment , to living conditions,² said Linklater. ³The Natives I¹ve spoken to have all said they¹re happy with how De Beers is taking care of the environment.
³Our main concern is the environment and how this will affect our drinking water. ³But we can see they keep the place clean.² Hall echoed the sentiment, saying it¹s important the environment be preserved as much as possible.
³I¹m getting to be more comfortable with the way they are proceeding,² Hall said. ³Our concern is the environment, not stopping development.²
A complex undertaking
The Victor Project is the largest and most promising of 16 diamond-bearing Kimberlites in the area. The carrot-shaped deposits from ancient volcanoes have to be probed by hundreds of drilling tests. The technical issues involved in setting up drills ranging from 10-60 centimetres in diameter on seemingly endless kilometres of bog in cold and
snow, means there is no time to spare. It takes up to a month to set up a drilling platform and another to tear it down and ship it back out to the trains.
Care is taken to leave the surrounding environment as undisturbed as possible. National park-type measures are being taken to preserve the land. It¹s forbidden to feed any wildlife, from birds to bears. Smoking is prohibited
outside specific areas. Garbage is bagged and flown out to Attawapiskat. Nothing is left on the ground, garbage, gloves or anything leaked from any machine. An inspector daily walks around the entire camp to ensure nothing is left
behind.
The winter project of 2002-2003 is a critical step in the process of bringing life to Victor. The feasibility study currently being conducted is an expensive experiment. As the characteristics of the kimberlite is defined, the size, shape and depth of the open pit mine is being designed from the data. Several of the experiments are to define how the muskeg will react to having weight placed on it.
Off in a corner of the project, an acre-sized pad sits atop the muskeg in two tiers, with huge bags of ore stacked on it. As the pad sinks, the rate, stability and reaction to varying weights helps engineers design the platforms all the mine¹s buildings will sit on. Since the entire project sits in kilometres of water, dikes have to be designed, access roads built from used ore and drainage has to engineered in such a way as to not upset the rest of the environment.
A small stream has to be diverted from the edge of the future pit. It has to maintain roughly the same shape and length, so as to not disturb the trout which live there.
Tests are ongoing to drain underground water below the clay and in the rock around the kimberlite. It has to be drained into the nearby Attawapiskat River and tested to ensure it will not affect the river¹s characteristics, since it may become the First Nation¹s source for drinking water.
Since the ore is not treated with any chemicals, runoff is not the environmental nightmare it is in other types of mines. It is checked for salt and mineral content. But the amount of water going into the river is insignificant compared to the total flow. ³The mine will require 20 pumped wells draining up to 4.55 million litres of
water per day, but in reality it¹ll only pump out water when it¹s present, said Wood.
During the next four-month period, starting in December 2003, the site cleared with pads, roads and infrastructure put in place for the buildings to be constructed in the next cycle in 2004-2005. Key in the designing process is the intent to disassemble and remove everything from the site when the mine is played out. Everything including the garbage will be taken away, leaving only waste rock
in flat formations. ³They will be only five to 10 metres high and will be a benefit to the local wildlife,² Wyeth said.
³It¹s encouraging to see Canada geese already using the ponds and cleared areas.³It¹s not possible to have no impact on the environment, but we can minimize it. |
