Victor impact agreement signed (November 21, 2005)

The band council at the Attawapiskat First Nation in northern Ontario has voted unanimously to approve an impact benefit agreement with De Beers for the Victor diamond mine, removing the last obstacle to a production decision on the project.

The agreement had previously been ratified in a band referendum.

The project, which has an estimated capital cost around $1 billion, has also received its final approval from the Ontario government under the Environmental Assessment Act. Along with approvals by the national government this will allow De Beers to begin construction this winter.

Construction should take three years, so that production would begin late in 2008. The Victor kimberlite pipes have a reserve of 28.7 million tonnes grading 0.22 carat per tonne and the mine would produce at a rate of 7,000 tonnes per day.

Over a 12-year mine life Victor would produce 6 million carats of diamonds for De Beers, a subsidiary of Anglo American (AAUK-Q).