By Glenn Hicks

Diamond mine project near P.A. gets environmental approval

Oct 25, 2018 | 5:18 PM

It took at least eight years of process but the environmental assessment approval for the proposed diamond mine 65 kilometres east of Prince Albert has now been granted by the province.

The Ministry of Environment announced Thursday the Star-Orion South Diamond Mine Project at the Fort à la Corne Forest could now proceed with next steps, after confirming the company had received their approval.

“We’re able to sign off to say that this is what the company is going to abide by in terms of trying to mitigate as much impact on the environment as possible,” Minister Dustin Duncan told paNOW. “If the project moves forward there are still a series of approvals and permits and leases the company still has to attain.”

The process toward starting a diamond mine on the site has been a very long one; the idea launched over 20 years ago, and Duncan said officials had been discussing the environmental aspect since 2010 or earlier.

“This is likely the longest environmental process we’ve undertaken as a ministry. It’s a complex project in a complex area,” he said. “The Fort à la Corne Provincial Forest is considered an island forest, so it’s a forest but surrounded largely by cultivated agricultural land.”

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According to a media release from the government, the approval for the mining operation, which would employ 700 people once fully operational, comes with 11 key conditions. These are part of an obligation to address potential adverse impacts to Treaty rights and traditional uses.

Some of those conditions include: Preparing a fish habitat compensation plan and environmental monitoring; providing funding to James Smith Cree Nation to support community participation in a stewardship committee; entering an agreement to provide training, jobs and business opportunities for James Smith Cree Nation and other local communities; and setting aside a conservation area elsewhere in the Fort à la Corne Forest to provide continued opportunity for the exercise of Treaty and Aboriginal rights.

The James Smith Cree Nation was not immediately available for comment Thursday.

In response to the approval, Star Diamond Corporation President and CEO Kenneth E. MacNeill said in a media release, “This approval, alongside the previous positive federal decision, marks a major milestone towards the development of a diamond mine in Saskatchewan.”

Last year Star Diamond granted mining giant Rio Tinto an option to earn up to 60 per cent interest in the project over a multi-phase time span.

Asked what the project could mean for the provincial economy, Duncan said “when developed, the mine would contribute to the local and provincial economies, through taxes, royalties, and other business opportunities.”

He added it would signal diversification in terms of the province’s resource base.

“There’s a certain level of interest when you start talking about the fact that Saskatchewan could become a major diamond producer in the world,” he said.

glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow