De Beers in Canada

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De Beers on track for second Canadian diamond mine
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http://www.miningweekly.co.za/?show=77216


De Beers said it has signed an agreement with the native community in northern Ontario were it plans to start building its second Canadian diamond mine.

The agreement with the Attawapiskat First Nation comes after the federal and provincial governments approved De Beers' environmental assessments for its Victor project in a remote northeastern corner of Ontario.

"We said we would not pursue the mine without the support of the community," said Linda Dorrington, a spokeswoman for De Beers, which is 45% owned by mining group Anglo American.

"Symbolically it is an indication of support from the community. But it's more than just a symbolic commitment, there are specific things that the company and the community have agreed to."

The agreement sets out how the Attawapiskat community will benefit from the diamond mine and includes a commitment for jobs and financial compensation for "loss of the use of the land while it is being mined."

De Beers is now applying for a number of permits. It needs about 30 from Ontario and about 11 from federal authorities.

"We have everything in place," said Dorrington. "We don't have any reason to believe that those won't be granted because we are in compliance."

De Beers, which produces about half the world's diamond supply, has been moving away from its traditional base in South Africa where it has started shutting down mines that are low on diamonds and profits.

The Victor project is in the flat and swampy James Bay lowlands. De Beers' other Canadian operation is the Snap Lake mine in the Northwest Territories, slated to start up in 2007.

Dorrington said De Beers is on track to begin constructing the Victor open pit mine early in 2006.

The mine is expected to take three years to build and to start producing at the end of 2008. Victor is seen producing 6-million carats during the life of the mine.

Canada already has two operating diamond mines, Ekati and Diavik, both in the Northwest Territories. They have elevated the country from a non-diamond producer before 1998, to the world's third largest today.