Construction continues with Victor Project.

Multiple tasks are pushing forward in an effort to develop what is expected to be Ontario's first diamond mine.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

"There's a whole range of stuff that we need to do," says Jeremy Wyeth, vice-president, De Beers Canada's Victor Project.

More than 300 workers are on the ground building the foundation, constructing a substation and activating de-watering pump tests at the $982 million mine site, located 90 kilometres west of Attawapiskat.

The foundation is being poured which will make way for a new process plant facility to be constructed during the winter months.

Although it was initially expected to become functional in October 2008, the short winter season caused De Beers to reprioritize and perform additional work to the site. It is now expected to come into operation between April and June, 2008.

"With the warm winter, we were unable to do some of the test trench work we were planning," he says, so instead workers stripped the process plant site.

Once completed, crews were able to schedule the transport of process equipment for this upcoming winter.

"This gave us an opportunity to pull (the) schedule forward."

Final work is also being done to the on-site substation, which will allow De Beers to connect the power line from the mine site to Attawapiskat.

"There is some surplus power on the Five Nations energy power line that runs up the coast from the Moosonee area right up to Attawapiskat, so we will be linking up to that and drawing some power from that line," says Wyeth. "By early October, we should be in a position to energize that line."

Having recently completed a road and pipeline leading to the Attawapiskat River, the company is currently conducting de-watering pump tests, which was initially planned during its environmental assessment phase.

"This pump test will give us additional information for the design of all the our wells," says Wyeth. "And we now have access from where the well is, all the way to the Attawapiskat River".

In anticipation of the completion of this work, De Beers is also drilling de-watering wells right into the new year.

The upcoming months will find De Beers completing the work it was forced to halt as a result of last year's unusually warm winter. This includes the construction of an additional 400 metres on its runway to allow for more than one plane to simultaneously occupy the area.

"We were planning on putting in 1500 metres of runway, but we only got in about 1100," says Wyeth. "We've actually added a small apron to one side of the runway to compensate in the meantime."

The area's geography is the source of particular issue, as the muskeg-laden lands in the region pose a threat to heavy equipment in warmer weather.

"You can work in the area's muskeg conditions in the summer, but it's extremely difficult (going into the winter months) because you can't take (heavy equipment) over (soft ice) since it just sinks into the muskeg," says Wyeth.

De Beers can only move heavy equipment starting in mid-January through to February, since the cold weather firms up the ground sufficiently for this equipment to be safely transported. Equipment transportation affects the progress of certain projects. For example, drilling of de-watering wells has begun and is set to end in the new year.

"If possible, it's always best for us to be able to finish off work with these drills in that span, because the only time you can get them in and out is on the winter (or ice) roads," says Wyeth. "If we can get all the drilling through to year end and be complete, then it actually makes sense to move those drills off-site. It'll all depend on the progress we make over the next couple of months."

www.debeerscanada.com

By NICK STEWART

Northern Ontario Business