The De Beers Group’s Victor Mine in northern Ontario received the President’s Award from the Timmins Chamber of Commerce during its 2019 Nova Business Excellence Awards on May 9.

“Originally a finalist in the Large Business of the Year category, the Victor Mine submission was elevated to the President’s Award, which recognises the most outstanding nomination across all 15 Nova Award categories,” De Beers revealed. “This is also the second time the Victor Mine has received the President’s Award, having captured the inaugural award in 2010.”

Chamber President Nancy Mageau said: “Tonight’s recipient is a perfect example, proving how ingenuity, inclusion, and expertise can help to change the face of a landscape, and our city in the best possible ways. Though this year marks the end of one stage for this business, they have been a driving force for our economy and a key contributor to several organisations over their time in the region.”

Alistair Skinner, Manager – Operations, Victor Mine responded by saying: “It is an honour to accept this award on behalf of Victor Mine employees, who have built a legacy of excellence in safety, production, and much more. To receive this recognition during our final days of operations is especially rewarding.”

Victor Mine is one of 16 winners out of a record-setting 165 nominees in the event’s 17th year. For the mine, the Timmins Chamber President’s Award comes less than 10 days after it received its fourth consecutive John T. Ryan Award for safety, announced at the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum Convention Awards Gala in Montreal.

Victor Mine also received a Workplace Excellence Award in April from Workplace Safety North, an independent health and safety association that provides services to mining and forest products industries and other businesses across northern Ontario, De Beers added.

“Over the 11 years of operations, Victor Mine received more than a dozen awards that recognized safety excellence by the operation or its employees,” the Company noted.

Discovered in 1987, the Victor Mine was Canada’s first commercial diamond deposit. “Since 2006, De Beers Group has spent US$2.1 billion to build and operate the mine, of which US$820 million has gone to Indigenous and local businesses in Northern Ontario,” De Beers stated. “Through Q1 of 2019, 8.1 million carats of diamonds have been recovered at Victor Mine.”

Mining operations in the Victor pit ended on March 5 and processing of ore will conclude by the end of May. The mine will then move into closure and full-scale reclamation. Already, about 30 per cent of the mine site has been reclaimed and revegetated.

De Beers Canada was also on stage during the Nova Awards as sponsor of the Indigenous Partnership Award. This year’s winner was dB Hearing Inc., a locally owned and operated audiology and hearing aid services practice in Timmins.