Home FJ: Let's start with their experience in studying the impact of diamond mining in Canada. What exactly was the scope of its work around the mines diamond and employing you?
PK: I have been involved in environmental monitoring and evaluation of diamond mines in the NWT about 5 years, design, evaluation and review of wildlife programs.
I come at this from the perspective of an independent consultant, designing and reviewing monitoring programs for wildlife, and more recently as a member of the Independent Environmental Monitoring Agency, a public monitoring for environmental monitoring of BHP Billiton's Ekati mine diamonds.
FJ: Who owns the land mines are and how are the mines that affect the environment and wildlife?
PK: I'm not sure but I think most of the mines are owned Crown land by the federal government. Mines of this nature have an impact on the environment and wildlife in a certain scale.
The Ekati mine, for example, currently has a footprint of 20 km2. This leads to small local displacements mammals and birds, and impacts to vegetation.
A larger scale NWT diamond mines have made great efforts to minimize and mitigate potential impacts the environment.
Some changes in aquatic and terrestrial systems have occurred, but these are minimized and contained to the greatest extent possible.
So while there is still potential impacts are currently being addressed and the uncertainties in the system that require greater vigilance in general operating mines in an environmentally sound manner.
FJ: Can you have a sense of how economic development is affecting indigenous communities, for better or worse?
KP: socio-economic impacts are not my specialty, but these mines appear to have produced and well-paid, long-term training and employment for Aboriginal peoples in diaspora communities in the north.
In areas where economic development opportunities are limited, I think this has tended to soften the cycle of boom and bust of resource development has happened in the past in some areas.
This obviously has an impact on the traditional Aboriginal lifestyle practiced by most northerners until recently.
FJ: I have heard from others that Yellowknife is a city of rapid growth brings a range of problems. Any sense of this?
PK: I lived in Yellowknife for 15 years in the 1980s and 1990s, leaving only the Ekati mine first diamond mine of Canada, was being built.
Located where it is, and depending heavily on resource extraction (the city was built on two gold mines),
Yellowknife has always had a border / Boomtown flavor. The diamond mines definitely intensification of this medium.
FJ: Extraction Diamond is expanding in the region. What do you see as the critical current risks of the environment as mining wastes?
PK: The main risk is to ensure that the cumulative impact of all human activities do not adversely affect the environment, particularly wildlife.
All mine on its own can produce relatively minor impacts, localized, but in concert with any other activity, all these sources of development (mining projects, communities, camps, shelters, etc.) may exceed a threshold that could cause negative impacts.
Some of wildlife in the north have large annual ranges that have the to interact with potential sources of disturbance in a wide area.
FJ: In your opinion, mine are all the same in terms of impact on the environment, manage or are some better than others? What I am trying to understand whether or not a particular site is more expensive than the reputation of other sites.
PK: In this day and age, I suggest to all mines in the north have environmental standards that are far superior to those that occurred in the past. There are a multitude of regulatory requirements, Licenses and permits needed to build and operate a mine, and a host of regulatory agencies that oversee this process.
That said, each company has a focus slightly different in the process, which means that some are actually easier to work with and manage better than others.
FJ: Would you recommend a diamond Canada to friends in the environmental activists?
KP: If a diamond is in the plans of someone, yes, without hesitation.
FJ: Anything else that he would like to ad?
KP: Readers may wish to visit the IEMA website for updates on our review of the environmental program at Ekati.
Similar websites are available for the other 2 the operations of the diamond mines in the Northwest Territories.
About the Author:
Marc Choyt is President of Reflective Images, an ethical jewelry company, www.celticjewelry.com that sells fair trade artisan diamond wedding rings online at www.artisanweddingrings.com. His company produces eco-friendly, conflict free diamond jewelry. Marc also authors www.fairjewelry.org supporting green, fair trade, socially responsible jewelry practices.
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Wildlife Biologist Kim Poole On The Impact Of Diamond Mining In Canada
