The environmental assessment and approval process for the Diavik diamond mine illustrates the conflict created by mining developments in impoverished yet relatively undisturbed, ecologically fragile regions.
On the one hand, the $1.3-billion project, northeast of Yellowknife, N.W.T., is expected to provide employment and business opportunities for up to 25 years in a region that currently faces unemployment rates of 50-89%. Northerners will fill about 250 of the 400 jobs during operations, and the owners expect to spend $70 million with local businesses annually.
On the other hand, the open-pit operations have the potential to disturb the ecology of Lac de Gras and its watershed and disrupt caribou migratory routes. Aboriginal groups, including the Dene, Dogrib, Inuit and Metis, rely on the caribou for subsistence.
To address these concerns,
Throughout the process, the company and its 40% joint-venture partner,
And although the final permit required for the project, a water licence, was granted in August, it appears Diavik is not out of the woods yet. Murray Swyripa, vice-president of environmental affairs for DDMI, declined to be interviewed for this story, saying “we still have a few battles on our hands,” and until these are resolved, the company is unwilling to comment on the regulatory process.
At presstime, DDMI, a subsidiary of London-based
Barring any further delays, the partners hope to have the mine in production by 2003, almost a decade after discovery.
Aber discovered gem-quality diamonds on the Diavik property in 1994. That year, the partners began environmental baseline studies that integrated contributions from scientists and engineers, as well as community residents and their elders.
The studies measured and assessed fish and water, wildlife, vegetation and terrain, air quality, heritage resources and socio-economic conditions. By the end of 1997, DDMI had prepared close to 100 reports describing the natural and social environment of the region.
The Diavik project lies in Lac de Gras, a large lake in the Slave Geological Province, about 100 km north of the tree line. The area around Lac de Gras supports a variety of wildlife, including 84 bird species and 16 mammal species. During the spring migration, up to 100,000 caribou pass through the region.
The four diamond-bearing kimberlite pipes DDMI proposes to mine lie just offshore of East Island. Caribou sometimes cross the lake ice to visit the island, followed by bears, wolves and wolverines. Peregrine falcons maintain a nest on one of the island’s cliffs.
DDMI will mine the pipes from three open pits, each of which is about 750 metres wide at the top. As the pits deepen, the mining will move underground. To gain access to the ore, the company will move 250 million tonnes of country rock to rock piles on East Island. Once production begins, DDMI expects to mine about 40 million tonnes of ore and waste rock each year.
All of the project facilities, including a kimberlite processing plant, accommodations, maintenance shop and fuel storage, will be built on East Island. The processed kimberlite remaining after DDMI has extracted the diamonds will be placed in an engineered containment structure in the centre of the island.
Long life
The mine is expected to operate for 16-22 years, producing 6-8 million carats per year, or 5% of world diamond supply, at full production.
In March 1998, DDMI started the formal Comprehensive Study Review process required for project approvals under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA). The review, including more than 300 public meetings, took 18 months and highlighted several concerns.
Chief among these concerns was DDMI’s failure to substantiate its claim that only one type of mining plan was feasible. DDMI proposed to build dykes around the four economic kimberlite bodies lying underneath Lac de Gras, drain the lake and remove the lakebed sediments within the dykes, then mine the diamond ore.
The proposal angered organizations concerned about the potential impact of such a major undertaking on the fragile ecology. “Diavik dismissed the less-intrusive method of underground mining as not providing sufficient shareholder value,” Kevin O’Reilly, research director of the Canadian Arctic Resource Committee (CARC), wrote in The Edmonton Journal last year.
The Dogrib First Nation also challenged the plan, saying the comprehensive study ignored the cumulative impact of diamond mines on the regional environment and caribou migration.
Despite these concerns, David Anderson, federal minister of the environment, allowed the project to proceed to the regulatory phase in November 1999 (with a few conditions). “Throughout, this process has been open and inclusive, valuing public participation,” he said of the review. “Steps were taken to involve all interested parties and address issues.”
He requested that DDMI design and implement a management program for cumulative effects with input from government, aboriginal groups and non-government organizations. The company was also expected to establish an ongoing monitoring program with direct involvement from aboriginal groups.
“When it came to making his first hard decision, where business interests might come into conflict with environmental responsibility, the minister caved,” argued O’Reilly in his Edmonton Journal commentary.
But a few months after offering its support for the project, the Canadian government withheld a key land permit that would have allowed DDMI to prepare the site for construction because the environmental management agreement was still outstanding. As a result, the company almost missed the short window of time available to transport equipment to the site on the winter road from Yellowknife.
In the meantime, DDMI agreed to fund monitoring programs by five aboriginal groups and partially fund a monitoring “secretariat” that would oversee environmental matters and social or economic issues.
In early March 2000. after nearly four months of negotiations, the environmental agreement was signed. DDMI was able to take advantage of cold weather that extended the life of the winter road until mid-April to move nearly 1,000 truckloads of material to the site. Even so, the company was unable to ship enough fuel to complete the airstrip this year.
First of its kind
The Diavik EA is the first of its kind in Canada to require majority representation of aboriginal groups on the Environmental Advisory Review Board, progressive reclamation of the mine, and company participation in a regional management forum that will evaluate and manage the cumulative effects of the project.
The agreement also set the amount to cover life-of-mine closure costs and other environmental liabilities at $180 million, the largest security deposit ever required of a Canadian mining operation.
DDMI and Aber cleared yet another hurdle in June, when they reached an out-of-court settlement with the CARC, which had challenged the project in federal court. The CARC is seeking funding from private and public sources for an independent study of ecological indicators and thresholds that could assist evaluations of future developments in the Slave geological province. DDMI has agreed to contribute some of the funds.
The battle is not over. But once the terms and conditions of the water licence are agreed upon, the Diavik project may finally be able to complete the race to become Canada’s second diamond mine.
Be the first to comment on "Diavik assessment marred by conflict"