With more than 10 years in operation as Ontario’s first and only diamond mine, the chief executive at De Beers Canada said the company is now preparing for the closure of the Victor Mine located in the James Bay Lowlands next winter.
With more than 10 years in operation as Ontario’s first and only diamond mine, the chief executive at De Beers Canada said the company is now preparing for the closure of the Victor Mine located in the James Bay Lowlands next winter.
Kim Truter, who is also company president, said this week the Victor Mine was very well-run, but admitted there might be better ways in the future to run a mining project and keep the First Nations communities more satisfied. He said the time might be right to consider other forms of financial partnerships.
Truter made the comments to The Daily Press Wednesday as the company celebrated the 10th anniversary of the official opening which took place 10 years ago this summer. The ceremony was held at the mine site, located about 90 kilometres west of the coastal community of Attawapiskat. Company executives and community leaders toured the mine and its various operations.
Truter said he had mixed feelings about the event; celebrating 10 years of achievement on one hand while other the other hand, preparing for the mine’s shut down, set for February 2019. “I think it is a little bit bittersweet you know. It is important that we set it right, all the achievements that you saw today. I am very proud of all the ingenuity we saw today,” said Truter.
He thanked the hundreds of company employees, many of whom gathered in the company gymnasium to watch commemorative videos, to hear speeches from long-term employees and take part in a cake-cutting event.
At other parts of the mine site, it was business as usual. Drillers continued to bore new blast holes at the bottom of the massive pit and huge trucks hauled hundreds of tonnes of fresh kimberlite ore to the mill on surface.
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