By IAN ROSS
When De Beers Canada begins extracting diamonds from its Victor Mine in March, it will be a landmark event in the history of Ontario’s Far North.
And it’s possibly the first of other mines in the James Bay Lowlands with 29 kimberlite pipes (an indicator mineral for diamonds) identified by De Beers and other miners in the region.
“It’s the first big development of that size in the lowlands, “ says biologist Daniel Campbell, a Laurentian University plant ecologist working with De Beers on an environment program to eventually return the area to its natural state.
The Victor kimberlite is expected to have a 12-year mine life and even longer project life of 17 years.
Campbell and other Laurentian researchers are investigating various ways to restore the disturbed areas to peatland again. It’s part of an ongoing R & D partnership since 2003 to re-vegetate the area as part of the mine closure plan.
Restoration of those sensitive lands after mining is one of the leading projects underway by scientists affiliated with the Centre of Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI) on the Sudbury campus.
The James Bay lowlands are a huge prairie-like swampy area -- the world’s third largest -- covering some 325,000 square kilometres from Churchill, Manitoba to the Quebec border. The area makes up about four per cent of Canada’s land mass and between the muskeg ponds, it’s vegetated by scattered scrawny black spruce, tamarack, small shrubs and mostly peat moss.
“It’s beautiful, like no other place,” says Angie Charbonneau, a Masters student in biology participating in the project. “The weather is absolutely crazy. It’s freezing one minute, and next minute you’re taking your jacket off.”
The Victor mine development is about six to seven kilometres from the Attawapiskat River with other nearby tributaries feeding it.
Any hunting or fishing by anyone on site is a strict no-no. The place is part of the traditional grounds used for food and trapping by Attawapiskat First Nation residents, 90 kilometres to the east.
Returning the area to its unspoiled state was promised by De Beers in its impact benefit agreement with the Native community.
“We started the first phase of research before we have permission to build the mine,” says Brian Steinback, De Beers Canada’s senior environmental co-ordinator at Victor.
Eventually roads and pipelines will have to be removed. The main camp area will be restored. The open pit will become a lake.
Several million tonnes of waste rock -- limestone and processed kimberlite -- from the pit will have to be piled over several hundred acres and re-vegetated with native plants.
Companies like De Beers have been extracting diamonds in Arctic conditions in Canada’s Far North, but this is the first time they’ve developed a mine in a wetland landscape. It makes restoration work that much more of a challenge.
Campbell, who specializes in restorative techniques, has worked on restorative techniques with Quebec companies harvesting peat for horticultural purposes. This is his first experience working with a mining company.
“Canada is a world leader in peat land restoration, but it’s never been done in a sub-Arctic environment,” says Campbell. In a cold environment, plants obviously grow much slower.
On peat farms in Atlantic Canada, straw is used as mulch to create a micro-climate for plants to take hold.
In the North, those techniques must be modified somewhat to prevent weeds from growing.
Laurentian students including Charbonneau have set up test plots near the mine experimenting with coconut and straw mulch, cut-up chunks of peats, locally growing sedges and low-lying scrubs to create a complete carpet of peat moss.
The protocol they develop will be passed on to De Beers for the later rehabilitation work. Campbell says the scientific knowledge they gain from this previously unknown area of Canada will be published for all to see.
As the Victor project progresses, he expects to add three more Masters and undergrad students as assistants to do more restoration planning.
Restoring the uplands -- slightly elevated knobs of limestone -- will be a more extensive challenge requiring more research. One previous Laurentian researcher set up plot testing local species such as cottongrass.
Campbell says the project’s longevity allows some Laurentian students to gain some real-world experience and hopefully land jobs in the mining industry.
