Diamond Mining and Sustainability at De Beers’ Canadian Mines

Abstract

De Beers operates two diamond mines in Canada, the Snap Lake Mine, Northwest Territories and the Victor Mine, Ontario. Because mining involves the extraction of finite resources, the sustainability of a mine can be defined by the extent to which it can serve as a catalyst for benefits that extend well beyond the life of mine. The challenge in mining, therefore, is to work with affected communities to utilise the value realised by a mining operation to assist affected communities to realise their long-term goals and aspirations. Both the Snap Lake and Victor mines commenced production in 2008, and each mine affects four separate communities. Many of these communities are remote fly-in villages, with seasonal road access for less than 2 months a year; one village has access only by rail or by air, while the remaining three communities are accessible year round by road. De Beers’ experience is described to date in terms of approach, successes, failures and challenges. De Beers’ has seven impact benefit agreements (IBA) with eight main communities of interest (two communities have a single IBA): these agreements are the foundation of company-community relationships. Important aspects include the interaction of company personnel and community members, frequency and duration of visits to communities and the mine sites, together with availability of adequate resources for both company and communities. Significant progress has been made with employment, training including education, and business opportunity initiatives, as well as cultural enhancement. Furthermore, the focus has been on those skills and opportunities that are not specific and unique to mining, so that there will be a wider range of future opportunities for those who participate. Implementation of agreements is more complex and requires more effort than planned, and even after 5 years of implementation, community capacity issues are constraining. Proponents should keep these facts in mind for future projects.