Two environment professionals from De Beers Group were special guests at a university preparation program offered through a partnership between Trent University and Yellowknives Dene First Nation (YKDFN) encouraging future environmentalists to take up programs on Indigenous Environmental Studies and Sciences.
William Liu, Environment and Permitting Superintendent based at De Beers’ Calgary office, and Mason Elwood, Environmental Coordinator based at Gahcho Kué mine, were invited to share their career paths in environmental roles within the mining industry. Both spoke about their university education background and potential career opportunities.
Liu, who supports environmental permitting for Gahcho Kué, said: “The students were quite excited to learn from our real-life examples, and were interested in our environmental summer student program. After the presentation, some came out of the building to introduce themselves and asked about working at the mine and employment opportunities. It was quite a fun outreach event for us to interact with the students.”
De Beers was pleased to support the two-year program by providing subject matter experts to share their experiences. Organizations interested in similar presentations can contact the company’s Yellowknife office or email [email protected].
Gahcho Kue mine is a joint venture between De Beers Group (51% - the operator) and Mountain Province Diamonds (49%). The mine is located about 280 km northeast of Yellowknife in Canada’s Northwest Territories. De Beers has approximately 650 employees in Canada. In addition to Gahcho Kue, the company is actively closing Snap Lake mine in the NWT (Northwest Territories) and Victor mine in Northern Ontario, has an active exploration team searching for new diamond deposits in Canada and is advancing the Chidliak Project to establish a technologically advanced diamond mine on Baffin Island using FutureSmart Mining™ principles.