The reduction of energy and fuel consumption at the Snap Lake and Victor mines is partly motivated by the high cost of diesel generated electricity.

De Beers Canada is also committed to meeting the requirements of the Mining Association of Canada’s Towards Sustainable Mining reporting protocol for energy and greenhouse gas emissions management.

The Snap Lake and Victor mines have also recently registered as “energy leaders” under the Canadian Industry Program for Energy Conservation.

There is also concern over the impact of climate change on the winter roads used to transport supplies to mines in the Northwest Territories. Winter roads are made of ice and can only be crossed by vehicles in winter.

In 2006, the Snap Lake mine completed an energy audit to identify possible energy saving opportunities for the remainder of the construction phase.

The audit identified a number of “quick wins” including turning off lights, controlling thermostats and limiting the use of vehicles. It also led to the development of an energy management strategy in late 2006.

The audit was completed following an unusually short winter road season, which forced Snap Lake to fly-in fuel at significant expense.

The strategy is now applied at both of our Canadian operations. It integrates energy management into mainstream business functions and the ISO 14001 management systems.

Further opportunities for energy savings and enhanced energy security are currently being evaluated. These include improving fuel efficiency in diesel generators, using wind turbines and heat recovery from hot mine ventilation air.

We are also evaluating the economic viability of generating and distributing hydroelectric power to all diamond mines in the Northwest Territories.

A number of lessons were learned for future projects. These include the need to plan for better energy management from the outset by reducing the use of mobile generators; using heat recovery processes, automating camp heating and lighting controls, and limiting the number of light duty vehicles on-site.

The audit also identified a need for increased employee and contractor awareness, although the high turnover of contractors makes it difficult to change behaviour once construction has been initiated.

Future initiatives would also ideally include wider discussion with government and local community stakeholders, many of whom are also employees or contractors of De Beers Canada. De Beers Canada aims to begin self reporting on energy, emissions and management initiatives in 2010.

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