De Beers, Nuna promise action after inspector’s scathing report

De Beers has launched an internal investigation after a winter road camp associated with its Gahcho Kué diamond mine was the subject of a highly critical environmental inspection.

NWT government inspector Tom Bradbury, in a letter to De Beers, said he was “seriously concerned” by the state of the Margaret Lake camp, some 40 km from the mine itself.

“It was apparent while on approach to the site via helicopter that the condition of the site was in disarray,” Bradbury wrote in his report, documenting a June 17 inspection.

“After landing, it was hard to comprehend the sheer amount of hydrocarbon staining and spillage observed throughout the site.”

Hydrocarbon spills usually refer to some form of oil spill. Most work sites use drip trays beneath vehicles and other methods to limit the extent to which oil, fuel, lubricants and other fluids can escape into the surrounding environment.

Bradbury said there were many examples of hydrocarbon staining under vehicles at the Margaret Lake camp, as well as concerns about the accumulation of scrap materials at the site and general poor housekeeping.

Of one spill, between the camp and the site of the spur road built to Gahcho Kué each winter, Bradbury wrote: “This is not a small clean-up and will likely result in the generation of a significant amount of contaminated soil. As this specific spill is considered significant it will require follow-up testing to ensure it has been properly mitigated.”

The GNWT has requested progress reports from De Beers on efforts to clean up the site, and a work plan for the winter season “to demonstrate how compliance will be achieved throughout winter operations.”

A follow-up inspection will take place at the end of the summer.

Nuna to take ‘immediate corrective action’

The Margaret Lake camp is operated by contractor Nuna Logistics on De Beers’ behalf.

Nuna Logistics said it was “in discussions with De Beers Canada regarding next steps.”

“Nuna is mobilizing an initial remediation and assessment team to the site, and we will be developing a plan to actively remediate the contaminated areas,” Nuna president and chief operating officer Jarda Slavik said in a statement.

“The condition of the site does not reflect the usual high environmental standards that we expect on our projects. Nuna will be working with environmental professionals to develop a remediation plan, and in collaboration with our client De Beers, Nuna will take immediate corrective action.”

De Beers, in a separate statement, told Cabin Radio: “The protection of the land and water where we operate is of the utmost importance to De Beers Group and Gahcho Kué mine and we hold our contract partner operating the Margaret Lake site to the same high standards.

“The items identified in the land use inspector’s report are of significant concern and we take this matter extremely seriously. We immediately initiated an internal investigation, and we have instructed the contractor responsible for operating the site to develop a plan to address the situation.”

Yellowknives Dene First Nation Dettah Chief Ernest Betsina told the CBC: “This should not come to this point like this, to see these disturbing pictures. The land has to be brought back to its original state, or close to its original state.”

De Beers staff told inspectors they hope to provide an update on the site’s condition “within the next several weeks.”