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A post-graduate student studying mine reclamation at De Beers Victor Mine has received the Tom Peters Memorial Mine Reclamation Award for her work.

Andrea Hanson conducted field restoration trials under the supervision of Dr. Daniel Campbell from Laurentian University for three summers at the Victor Mine. Her undergraduate thesis focused on mine reclamation:  “The effects of Fertilization and Mulch on the Reclamation of Peat and Overburden Mixes at the De Beers Victor Diamond Mine, Ontario”.

Her Master’s thesis will also focus on the reclamation of mine waste at the Victor Mine. Hanson has developed different mixtures of soil mixed with local materials like coarse processed kimberlite, fine processed kimberlite, silty soil overburden, and peat and is testing the growth of local vegetation over a one-year period. “Determining the most suitable conditions for vegetation establishment will help develop a reclamation protocol for mine wastes in subarctic regions, and provide the Victor Mine with suggestions for reclamation upon closure,” says Andrea.
 
Andrea was recently awarded the 2015 Tom Peters Memorial Mine Reclamation Award Student Bursary for her Masters thesis and her research focused on creating Anthroposols, a type of soil that has been modified for optimal native plant growth, to reclaim diamond mine wastes in the Hudson Bay Lowland.
 
Government and university research conducted at the Victor Mine is important for mine closure planning, as it brings forward possible new learnings in mine reclamation. The Victor Mine has a multi-year contract with Laurentian University to support mine reclamation vegetation program and also provides support through  lodging, accommodation and facility use to the scientists and researchers.  Ultimately, it’s everyone’s goal to protect the land and environment and return the land to its natural state after closure.

The Canadian Land Reclamation Association (CLRA), the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines (MNDM) and Vale established the Tom Peters Memorial Mine Reclamation Award in 2007. The purpose of the award is to encourage the pursuit of excellence in mine reclamation and to recognize and promote, to the mining industry and environmental community at large, outstanding achievement in the practice of mine reclamation in Ontario.

In this photo: Post-graduate student Andrea Hanson at the Victor Mine.