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FAMILY CONNECTIONS AND DIVERSITY AMONG HIGHLIGHTS OF STUDENT VISIT TO VICTOR MINE

05 Jul 2018

High school students from four Indigenous communities in Northern Ontario got the rare opportunity to visit Ontario’s first and only diamond mine to learn about mining careers during a recent visit to De Beers Victor Mine.

As part of a school year-end trip, 34 students and chaperones from Vezina Secondary School (Attawapiskat), Francine J. Wesley Secondary School (Kashechewan), Peetabeck Academy (Fort Albany) and Delores D. Echum Composite School (Moose Cree) along with chaperones spent a day at the remote fly-in/fly-out mine.

“They students got the chance to see what types of schooling can lead to careers in the mining industry and that there is so much more to the industry other than just digging a hole in the ground,” said Carol Achneepineskum, Indigenous Relations Superintendent at Victor Mine. “They were also able to visit with a number of family and community members who were working at site on the day of the visit and see the pride they have in their workplace.”

Employees from Mining, Process Plant, Environment and other departments answered questions about the entire mining process, from how diamonds are extracted to what reclamation work is currently being carried out and what the land will look like when the mine is gone.

The students also learned first-hand in the welding shop that mining is open to everyone, as to their surprise when the millwright working in the shop lifted their helmet to reveal her gender.

“It was wonderful to see the looks on their faces when they saw the female millwright doing what many believed was a so-called ‘man’s job’,” Carol said.

This is the sixth year that students from nearby communities have visited the mine.

De Beers also provided support for a group of 16 Grade 8 students from Delores D. Echum Composite School in Moose Factory for their trip to Toronto and Niagara Falls. During the trip, students went to the Royal Ontario Museum, the Ontario Legislature, and the CN Tower and went to a Blue Jays ballgame as well as Niagara Falls and Canada’s Wonderland.