It’s been a decade of historic achievement for De Beers Canada when it comes to their Victor Mine in Northeastern Ontario. And now the company is beginning the wrap-up process for the diamond mine, which is scheduled to end operations in February, 2019.

Opening in 2008, the mine, located near Attawapiskat, is one of the smallest and best-run open-pit mines in Canada. Tom Ormsby, the Head of External and Corporate Affairs for De Beers, was in Timmins on Thursday for a Chamber of Commerce Inside Their Business talk. He says the top priorities for the mine closure process is employee transition, and environmental impact on the surrounding area.

“We’ll be doing all the reclaiming of the mine’s footprint, environmentally,” said Ormsby. “So the shaping of stock piles, the continuing planting of things, the environmental monitoring of everything, from birds to noise, to wildlife.”

Victor Mine has always been environmentally conscious throughout its lifespan and that has led to some unique methods of creating power and eliminating waste on the grounds. Alistair Skinner, Manager of Operations at Victor Mine, told Chamber members about some of the methods used to keep the environmental impact to a minimum. For example, there are no chemicals used in the ponds around the site, and they pull water from a nearby river and supplement the river when levels are low. The mine pumps around 70M litres of water every day and 100% of the water used at the site is recycled. Also, the site has an incinerator to incinerate all waste that is produced.

The size of the plant is a factor in keeping the footprint as small as possible. The small size of the site means less heat is needed to run it. The site also uses the smallest equipment possible to do the work. That’s a feat when you factor in the 420 tones of ore that is sorted every hour at the site. The site uses oil to heat buildings, which is filtered and recycled. In his presentation, Ormsby said $17M has been saved on energy throughout the mine’s lifespan.

Ormsby stated the environmental impact the mine has is the number one (and only) priority when the site closes.

“What we have committed to and […] what everyone expects us to do, is to make sure that, when we finish everything, have we restored the land to its natural state,” Ormsby said. “We want it for ourselves. We’ve been proud of the way this mine has operated. […] But we know our legacy was built on that closure. We have to leave the right closure for that mine. And that’s what people will judge us on. So that’s super important.”

Ormsby said the mine is in its fifth year of environmental reclamation activities and it’s accounted for $7.4M in the 2018 budget. A third of the environment has already been reclaimed, while the mine is still in operation. Nearly half a million trees, shrubs and other plants are part of this years program, and 2.2 tons of native grass seeds are being planted throughout the area. An estimated total of 40 million seeds will have been planted within the next few years.

Apart from the environment, the workforce is the second priority the company is focusing on with the mine closure. Making sure employees are comfortable, informed and aware of their options is extremely important to De Beers. Orsmby says the workforce staying focused on the job at hand is paramount to the successful closure of the site.

“The biggest part, I think, that’s been different, is the focus on the employees and their support that’s needed for their eventual exit,” Ormsby said. “That’s probably the biggest change of any activity at the mine.”

Part of the process for transitioning employees to new positions or to the end of their time at Victor Mine, is providing counsel for things like resume building, budgeting and family matters.

“I think it’s the focus on things such as bringing in counselors for the employees. Everything from how to do resumes to, do you need any family-type counseling. Do you need financial counseling,” Ormsby said. “Working with employees to see what their priorities are. And understanding, you know, do you want to exit? Do you want to stay to the end? Do you want to go early? What makes sense for you so that while you’re here, your mind is still at work. We want to remove all of those things that can distract people.”

The comfort and safety of the employees has always been a major factor in the production of Victor Mine. The workers are given updates on the bus to the site after their time off. They get safety updates, news and mine updates before they even get back on site. This helps them get back to mining life as soon as possible.

Every Wednesday, the management team splits up and talks to the employees about things like safety, their frame of mind, and how things are going for them regarding the closure. The mine also has fatigue management, a system where workers are monitored for signs of fatigue or distress.

It’s no surprise, looking at their dedication to employees and the environment, that the mine has received      three John T. Ryan Awards, has a world class workforce, and has been showcased for representatives from Canada, the US, Hong Kong, and mainland China.

With the organization and forethought that has gone into the production of the mine for a decade, it’s estimated that the closure of Victor Mine will be as smooth and successful as the mine operation itself.