De Beers upbeat on Botswana diamond pact after meeting new president
De Beers' CEO said he expected negotiations on a new diamond sales pact with Botswana's government to be wrapped up within weeks.
The last truckload of kimberlite from Ontario’s first and only diamond mine has left the pit. De Beers Canada said mining ceased at Victor mine on March 5 – 11 years to the day after the official opening in 2008.
The honour of driving the last truck went to Nancy Wesley, of Kashechewan First Nation. She worked at Victor for 11 years, as a haul truck driver, dozer operator and production drill operator.
Stockpiled kimberlite will keep the recovery plant running until early May.
The Victor mine was forecast to produce 6 million carats of diamonds over its life, but it beat that by recovering a total of 8 million carats – with a record 936,000 carats produced in 2018. The project provided about 1,360 jobs and $3.7 billion of revenue to the province.
De Beers received several safety awards for Victor and was named International Mine of the Year in 2009.
(This article first appeared in the Canadian Mining Journal)
