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A million trees have now been planted at the De Beers Group Victor Mine in northern Ontario since the reclamation program began six years ago.

The milestone was achieved by the site-based reclamation team on June 16, 2019. It was the culmination of six years of ecological assessment and progressive reclamation involving multiple contractors, consultants and community stakeholders. By the end of this year, an estimated 44 per cent of the mine’s footprint will have been revegetated, an incredible accomplishment considering the mine only ended operations just three weeks before the one millionth tree was planted.

“One million trees planted by hand in the short summers we have at the mine is a testament to the commitment of the team and the excellent planning that has shaped this very successful program,” said James Alexander, Reclamation Superintendent at Victor Mine. “Now that the mining activities have ended, we can enhance our program and focus 100% of our attention on executing the remainder of our environmental program and reclamation activities.”

An estimated 670,000 plant species will be planted during the $15.4 million 2019 reclamation program. Many of the plants are grown from seeds collected by Attawapiskat First Nation youth since 2014.

Reclamation work planned during 2019 includes:

• 30,000 live stems grown on site
• 180,000 seedlings propagated in the mine’s specialized crop box and greenhouse
• 458,000 cones propagated in off-site nurseries in Timmins and B.C.
• 1,548 kg of seeds spread for native grass cover
• 461,000 m3 of overburden (processed kimberlite and muskeg) spread over areas of the mine
• 157,000 m3 of muskeg
• 176 hectares revegetated
• Earthworks to prepare the site for planting

To learn more about the 2019 reclamation program, click here.

The Victor Mine ended production on May 26, 2019 when the last ore was fed into the process plant, nearly 11 years since the mine was officially opened on July 26, 2008. Mining operations in the pit ended on March 5, and the pit is now being allowed to flood naturally. The site is completing decommissioning work and will move into formal closure activities in July.