Making an old diamond mine shine again
The De Beers group opened a $2 billion diamond mine in Ontario's far north in 2008 and wrapped up production in 2019.
But the company is still working hard on the rehabilitation part of the Victor Mine closure process.
Once employing as many as 500 people to take rocks out of the ground, today around 90 are working to put the land back together.
“We want to put it as close to the natural state that it was,” said Erik Madsen, head of corporate affairs for De Beers Canada.
The company told the Timmins business community that the central facility is demolished, hundreds of hectares of land seeded and the open pit has been turned into a lake.
Madsen said De Beers worked with area First Nations to reclaim the land and will ensure it's returned as close to its original state as possible.
"We're going to be around until 2039, so there's going to be requirements to go back, do some water quality monitoring, do some wildlife monitoring, checking on vegetation, all that,” he said.
“So we will work with them to develop a monitoring program, so that they will be involved for those years to come."
The company reflected on the mine's economic benefit to the region. Businesses sprouted and expanded to meet the demands of diamond mining.
It also supported First Nation-owned businesses like Attawapiskat Enterprises, which was its exclusive catering and security provider.
"It gave us an excellent opportunity to have job opportunities,” said Melissa Regan of Attawapiskat Enterprises.
“We trained, educated a lot of First Nation members to be able to offer them employment at the Victor Mine."
Timmins Mayor Michelle Boileau said the mine is still having an impact.
"The legacy of the Victor Mine and everything that it brought to the regional economy will continue on, over the next few years,” Boileau said.
“It really helped shape some of the businesses now that are servicing other mining operations in the region."
The province's first and only diamond mine is expected to be fully closed ahead of schedule this fall, although De Beers may not be done with diamond mining in the region.
Madsen said the company still holds rights to other deposits in the far north, but that it would need facilities with a smaller environmental and financial footprint.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Train derailed in Sarnia after colliding with a truck
Police are investigating after a transport truck collided with a train in Sarnia.
Fewer medical students going into family medicine contributing to doctor shortage
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.