Mining’s old guard needs strong medicine
A new report details subpar investor returns in the mining industry over the last decade, particularly big cap diversified companies which have not adapted to new realities.
The environmental impacts of what would be the Northwest Territories’ fourth diamond mine are being studied in Yellowknife, the capital.
The Gahcho Kue project is a joint venture between De Beers Canada (51%) and Mountain Province Diamonds (49%). Twenty years of exploration has uncovered three mineable kimberlite deposits: 5034, Hearne and Tuzo.
But to get to the kimberlites, part of Kennady Lake, which sits on top of the deposits, would have to be drained. The lake is about 1% the size of Lac de Gras, the location of the Ekati and Diavik diamond mines, says De Beers Canada, the operator of the project.
A spokesperson for the company told CBC News the deposits would be open-pit mined rather than mined from the side, in order to access the kimberlites, which she described as “carrot-shaped”:
“So to minimize the amount of waste we take out of the ground as we mine, it makes far more sense to do a circular motion around that carrot, if I can call it that, so that you can extract the carrot in pieces.”
De Beers Canada would re-route the lake, remove the fish, and refill it once mining is finished. The northeast basin of the lake would remain, separated from the lake by a small dyke.
De Beers Canada filed an environmental impact statement in December last year. A decision is expected by mid-2013.
Image of the Gahcho Kue project is by De Beers Canada.
Comments
ron askenazi
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