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The De Beers Canada Victor Mine is located in the James Bay Lowlands of Northern Ontario, approximately 90 km west of the coastal community of Attawapiskat.
In June 2005, the Attawapiskat First Nation voted in favour (85.5%) of ratifying the Impact Benefit Agreement (IBA). In August 2005, De Beers received approval by the Federal Minister of the Environment for the Victor Project Comprehensive Study Environmental Assessment (EA). Construction of the mine began in February 2006, once the necessary permits were granted. Construction of the Victor Mine created approximately 3,200 positions (full-time, part-time, contract, casual and temporary), while mining and operations will require approximately 400 permanent positions.
The Victor Mine is the first diamond mine in Ontario and the second in Canada for De Beers.
Click on one of the topics below if you would like to see a short video filmed at the Victor site in April 2001:
| PROJECT FACTS |
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Victor is one of 18 kimberlite pipes discovered on the property, 16 of which are diamondiferous. |
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The Victor kimberlite has a surface area of 15 hectares and consists of two pipes that coalesce at the surface: Victor Main and Victor Southwest. |
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The geology of the Victor kimberlite is complex, comprising of pyroclastic crater facies and hypabyssal facies and has a highly variable diamond grade. |
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The mine is an open-pit with an expected life of 12 years and a total project life of 17 years. |
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The site facilities include an open-pit mine, processing plant, workshops, warehouse, offices, fuel storage, pit dewatering system, accommodation complex and airstrip. |
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Accommodation complex at the mine site with 264 single rooms in the permanent dorm, recreational facilities, a library and internet access. |
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Support services include potable water, waste treatment and waste management. |
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Mining practices include standard open-pit mine equipment comprised of 100 tonne trucks, large front-end loaders, dozers and the necessary support equipment. |
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The processing plant is designed to treat 2.5 million tonnes of kimberlite per year (about 7,100 tonnes per day) with the final product then sorted and assessed for value. |
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The mine is supported by winter road access for the transportation of equipment and supplies. Personnel are transported to and from the site by air with pick-up stops at the coastal communities and Timmins. |
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Core and bulk sampling programs on other kimberlites will continue. Results of the evaluation of these programs will help determine if the mine life may be extended. |
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The first production diamond was recovered during commissioning of the processing plant on December 26, 2007. |
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The operations phase began on January 20, 2008 when the processing plant was began the ramp up to full production. |
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The Victor Mine was officially opened on July 26, 2008. It was also the same day the Victor Mine achieved full production. |
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The Victor Mine received ISO 14001 certification for its Environmental Management program before the beginning of construction. The Victor Mine received recertification of ISO 14001 in December 2008 for the Operations Phase. |
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The De Beers Canada Victor Mine and its contract partners safely worked more than four million hours from construction into operations without a Lost Time Injury. |
| PROJECT STATISTICS |
Impact area |
5,000 hectares |
| Indicated resource |
24.0 million tonnes |
| Inferred resource |
4.1 million tonnes |
Total tonnes processed |
27.4 million tonnes |
Recovered grade above a bottom cutt off
of 1.5mm
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0.23 carats per tonne |
| Average diamond value |
US$419* per carat |
Annual production rate |
2.7 million tonnes per year
600,000 carats per year |
Employees |
400 during production |
Investment to date |
CDN $305 million |
Capital cost |
CDN $1.022 bilion |
* Diamond prices subject to market related fluctuations; July 2006. Weighted average of
diamond value in tonnes processed.
| SITE ACCESS |
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Via Air:
Year-round by an all-weather airstrip. |
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Via Land: A seasonal winter road as weather permits, originally developed in 2005. |
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