I'll just type it in; (my bolding)
HUGE NORTHERN DIAMOND PLAY
Beginning in the fall of 1998, Canada's first diamond mine will begin producing some of the highest quality stones in the world at the Ekati Diamond Mine (Koala) at Lac de Gras, NWT, 300 km by air north of Yellowknife. Located on treeless tundra just 200 km south of the Arctic Circle, the mine on startup will be the largest in the NWT, and the sixth largest diamond mine in the world.
The joint venture project is 51 per cent owned by Australia-based BHP and 49 per cent by the Canadian Blackwater Group, which includes a 29 per cent share owned by Dia Met Minerals of Kelowna. Other Blackwater participants are Charles Fipke, the geologist who discovered the deposit, and Dr. Stewart Blusson, his prospecting partner.
Their find sparked the largest mineral staking rush in North American history. Diamond deposits have been identified at some 500 locations around the world, but only about 10 per cent are potentially of commercial value.
BHP Diamond Inc. mining manager Jeff Stibbard says the mine will produce about four million carats a year -- roughly four per cent of world production. An average carat is worth $84. Most of the gems are small, although the occasional large stone up to one carat in size is anticipated.
With some 750 workers on site, Ekati was a beehive of activity over the summer as construction and site preparation work moved into high gear. The pace, by necessity, was hectic as contractors raced to complete the season's outside work schedule before winter's onset.
For Stibbard and other BHP people involved from the onset, the move into the construction phase early in 1997 was a welcome departure from nearly four gruelling years of meetings, reports, and studies as the project moved through the assessment, evaluation, planning, environmental, and regulatory phases.
"Certainly, it has taken a lot of effort by a lot of people to get the project to this point," says Stibbard. "The whole thing started back in 1991 with the discovery of the deposit, but it took until January of this year before we could get pre-stripping and plant construction underway. After we had evaluated the potential yield of the deposit, a lot of work went into assessing the viability and environmental aspects of an operation of this scale at this site. The environmental assessments alone eventually filled eight volumes that weigh about 64 pounds. A lot of work has gone into getting this mine off the ground."
Stibbard says BHP's operating goals -- during construction and once mining begins -- include a commitment to safety, responsible environmental stewardship, and northern and aboriginal employment that he describes as "first rate and continuously demonstrated".
"In fact at present about half of our mining workforce are northerners, and of that contingent, 87 per cent are aboriginal people. We very much plan to keep the ratio of native people working at a high level once the mine is operating, and we are developing training and incentive programs to that end. Several of our major contractors are northern and aboriginal-owned companies and we hope to maintain this initial momentum. The committed, team approach to this project that I see demonstrated daily, by everyone involved including contractors like Finning, says to me that we are accomplishing our operating goals and that our people are striving for new standards of excellence."
MODERN CAMP
By necessity, the Ekati mine will be entirely self-contained, with its own telephone and satellite communications system, medical response capability, water and sewage treatment facilities, and a fuel tank farm with a 48-million-litre storage capacity.
The modern 750-person camp offers workers a variety of off-hour diversions, including three recreation rooms for pool, TV, or movies. Other amenities include an indoor jogging track, a racquet ball court, and a gymnasium.
Power for the mine and the camp will be provided by five Cat 3616 diesel generators producing 4.4 megawatts. The gen sets will be transported into the site by ice road this winter, along with mobile and plant equipment, construction materials, and supplies.
The coming winter haul operation to bring equipment and supplies from Yellowknife, a 475-km run, will involve 2,500 trips, mostly by B-trains, with 1,200 trips dedicated to fuel and 350 to explosives. From spring to fall, however, everything leaves and arrives by air. At our visit this summer, a steady stream of DC4s, HS748s, 737s, and Hercules cargo planes ferried people, material, and supplies from Yellowknife.
OPEN PIT MINING
On startup, the Ekati mine will process some 9,000 tonnes of ore a day to produce just two kilograms of diamonds -- enough to fill a single one-pound coffee tin. Given the high quality of the diamonds, however, their value will equal that of mines producing up to ten times the volume.
Releasing the diamonds from the soft kimberlite rock holding them is relatively simple. The kimberlite is easily crushed into small chunks. After the heavier diamond-bearing pieces are separated, the diamonds are 'spotted' by x-rays located above a conveyor and freed from the kimberlite with compressed air.
The initial mining method will be open pit, and excavation and other site preparation work started this summer. Heavy equipment employed included Cat 777D quarry trucks, loaded by a Cat 5130 hydraulic shovel, and two huge D10R tractors.
Uniquely, a jet ranger helicopter periodically circles over the excavation site, carefully herding off curious caribou prior to a blast. The camp is located along the migration route of the Bathurst Caribou.
The mine will eventually include five open pit operations tapping the kimberlite extrusions (lava-like pipes) that have carried the diamonds up from the depths (150 km or more below the earth's surface) where they were formed. The Lac de Gras kimberlites are all overlain by small, shallow lakes.
The first ore to be processed is just 13 metres beneath the bed of shallow Panda Lake, which has been diked and partially drained to accomodate mining. Three other lakes will be filled with waste rock produced by mining.
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At this point boredom with typing set in, more later.....
...... cheers all .............. macros |
