Active closure is expected to be done this summer, though the site will be monitored until at least 2039
Before the Victor Mine even had permits to operate, De Beers was working on its closure plan. Today, Ontario’s first diamond mine — located in a remote area of the James Bay lowlands west of Attawapiskat First Nation — fewer than 100 people remain on-site.
That’s far less than the 500 employees and contractors who were there during the height of the mine’s operations, said De Beers head of corporate affairs Erik Madsen. Madsen was the guest speaker at the Timmins Chamber of Commerce’s State of Mining event today (May 24). He talked about the mine’s operations, the work left to be done on-site and the future of De Beers in the James Bay area.
The Victor Mine was active from 2008 to 2019, with the last truck leaving the open pit in May of that year. “By the end of this summer, active closure at Victor will be complete. That means all the buildings are gone, open pit’s now a lake and the site is being fully rehabilitated,” he said.
The first phase of the closure started in 2019. It saw the demolition of the infrastructure — including the processing plant that recovered nearly nine million carats of diamonds. In early 2021, the second phase of the work was awarded.
For the rest of this article: https://www.timminstoday.com/local-news/ontarios-first-diamond-mine-in-the-final-stages-of-closing-up-7043946