De Beers announced a CAD$250,000 contribution from the Anglo American Foundation to support wildfire recovery in Canada’s Northwest Territories (NWT) and British Columbia (B.C.).
The donation includes CAD$200,000 to the United Way NWT Emergency Response Fund and CAD$50,000 to the United Way British Columbia United for B.C. Wildfire Recovery Fund to support the recovery, protection and prevention efforts in the two jurisdictions The contribution is in addition to CAD$70,000 donated by De Beers to support wildfire relief in the NWT since May.
Moses Madondo, Managing Director of De Beers Group Managed Operations, which oversees De Beers’ operations in Canada and South Africa, said: “We are grateful for the support from the Anglo American Foundation. The funding aligns with our value of Show We Care, and will help establish and support a culture of resilience and safety that will assist people and communities recover from the disastrous wildfires and possibly help prevent similar situations from happening in the future.”
The NWT and B.C. are experiencing their worst wildfire season on record, with more than 12,000 square kilometres of forest and tundra burned so far this year and two-thirds of NWT’s population were forced from their homes for several weeks. British Columbia has witnessed evacuations in the Okanagan and Shuswap regions and the destruction of hundreds of homes and businesses.
De Beers employs more than 600 people in Canada. It is the operator of the joint venture Gahcho Kué mine in the NWT, is actively closing Snap Lake mine in the NWT, the 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 technological diamond mine on Baffin Island using FutureSmart Mining™ principles.