George Reed with Star Diamond Corporation, left and Rio Tinto's Gary Hodgkinson in front of the star attraction at Project Falcon, the Trench Cutter Sampling Rig. (Ian Gustafson/paNOW Staff)

By Glenn Hicks

diamonds in the deep rough

Special Feature: The people behind the quest for Fort à la Corne’s diamonds

Sep 17, 2019 | 4:00 PM

The first season of deep trench-cutting by Rio Tinto at Star Diamond Corporation’s Star-Orion South Diamond Project in the Fort à la Corne forest east of Prince Albert is reaching a conclusion. Ahead of the next element of the mining giant’s initial exploration phase, paNOW’s Glenn Hicks and photographer Ian Gustafson visited the site to speak to some of the people doing their part to unlock the treasure.

If you blink heading East where the signpost says Shipman, you’ll miss it. To the left of this intersection in the middle of nowhere are remnants of sad-looking properties. The population is numbered at 10, and that seems generous. This tiny hamlet saw better days when there was a sawmill, and then in the 1930s when there were farming opportunities. It once had three grocery stores, a restaurant, poolroom and community hall according to writer David McLennan.

But it’s the right hand turn on this stretch of Highway 55 that points to a whole different and potentially brighter picture for this region, Prince Albert, and the province. The 45-minute drive South along the dirt road leads to what Rio Tinto refers to as Project Falcon, a possible joint venture between them and Star Diamond that could – and that’s a big multi-faceted ‘could’ – create hundreds of full-time jobs and generate billions of dollars.

The journey through the unique island of green that is the Fort à la Corne forest is punctuated by sightings of chipmunk and deer. Coyotes and wolves are among the other fauna that roam here. However, it’s the final turn in the road that reveals a beast that leaves no doubt about the enormity of the efforts underway to unearth what Star Diamond Corp. figures are 66 million carats of precious stones presently estimated to be buried far below the thick challenging surface here. The towering Trench Cutter Sampling Rig is the first thing you see when you enter the sprawling site.

Rio Tinto’s huge Trench Cutting Sampling Rig in position for one of its first incisions deep into the Fort à la Corne site earlier this year.(submitted/Rio Tinto)

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“This type of equipment is used around the world in civil engineering applications but this one was built especially for sampling …and we’ve broken a number of world records in terms of the depth we’ve been able to go to,” Rio Tinto’s Project Director Gary Hodgkinson says as he stands at the foot of the enormous device. The cutter has plunged almost 250 metres in places to extract samples of the kimberlites that hold the diamonds in their geomorphological grip. Machines like this have previously only hit the 150-metre mark.

Sample trench work on schedule

Progress has been swift since the first batch of huge sampling trenches started in early June. The company has now drilled nine of 10 that were planned for this year. The big vertical slices will ultimately give Rio Tinto a blueprint of the amount, size and quality of diamonds that will help them decide if this significant project is a go or not. At least 10 more holes are planned for 2020.

..among those results we’d like to see some very big diamonds _{– George Reed, Star Diamond Corp.}

“We’ve been pushing technology and I think we’ve been quite successful in being able to deliver on this year’s schedule,” Hodgkinson says. “I’m proud of the team that have been able to deliver with no safety incidents. Everybody’s been able to go home with all parts intact.”

While Hodgkinson is ever-eager to keep expectations in balance and stresses things are only in the evaluation stage, the man standing next to him has more of an excuse to appear ebullient. George Reed, the senior VP of exploration and development with Star Diamond Corporation spent decades trying to make this project a reality.

“These are huge, challenging holes down to 250 metres, a rectangular hole of 3.2 metres by 1.5 metres and yet it’s working. I’m extremely optimistic,” he says while channelling his inner salesman.

“I’m very excited, and among those results we would like to see some very big diamonds,” he says with a cheeky, sparkling smile and ruddiness of face that would put a rare red diamond to shame.

Among the team charged with giving Rio Tinto the answers that could see the multinational company take a 60 per cent stake in the venture is Jessica Zurloff, a contract geologist from Saskatoon. We find her in a Sea-Can in front of her scales.

“My main role is sample integrity so we ensure the cutter rig is delivering the right sized pieces of kimberlite,” she says.

The extracted material is de-sanded and may also run through a special separation unit to strip out mud and fine material. Those coarse pieces are bagged and stored and will be put through the Bulk Sample Processing Plant once it’s built soon. More on that in a bit.

Geologist Jessica Zurloff is among the first people to take a good look at the kimberlite samples as they exit the de-sanding stage. But no, she doesn’t run the risk of being blinded by glittering stones. (Ian Gustafson/paNOW Staff)

For anyone wondering if Jessica gets to juggle big chunks of raw diamonds all day, she’s quick to tell me it doesn’t work like that.

“It’s not like gold where you see it [in the ore] right away, and the chances of us seeing diamonds is very, very low,” she says.

While the only shiny item Zurloff sees at work is her steel inspection bowl, she is well aware of the widespread lustre the project could bring.

“This could have a great impact on Saskatchewan in a positive way and the teamwork here has been outstanding. The fact that various companies can come together and make something so extraordinary happen, is amazing.”

Along with Rio Tinto, Star Diamond Corporation and the Nuna Group, the project also has PCL and Bauer as major contributing contractors as well as a number of smaller local companies.

Releasing the diamonds from their shackles

So, how is the diamond-bearing kimberlite persuaded to let go of its hidden bounty? That’s where British engineer Emma Kirk comes in. She’s currently based in Australia but was brought in to deal with some specialist elements. Among her various responsibilities is to oversee the construction of the all-important Bulk Sample Processing Plant that is now seven weeks into its assembly.

The secret here is not to break any diamonds _{– Emma Kirk, mechanical engineer}

The plant was specially built in South Africa and then taken apart before being shipped to Montreal, railed to Saskatoon, and then driven in 25 sea container trucks to the project. Kirk has the task of ensuring all 117,000 pieces are put back together properly by the team of 42 employees with the PCL Group. Initially, Prince Albert company Impact Mechanical Services was expected to do the assembly but the company was unable to continue with the contract, according to Rio Tinto.

The big Lego set. Mechanical engineer Emma Kirk is overseeing the re-assembly of 117,000 components that make up the Bulk Sampling Processing Plant. It’ll be fully covered and will be the most active area of the site through the winter.(Ian Gustafson/paNOW Staff)

Think of this processing plant as a big Lego set, except if a piece goes missing or gets broken you can’t nip down to the local mall for another one.

“The challenge of the job is in the sequencing,” Kirk tells me. “We first built the foundation, then we assemble the plant and then we’ll erect a building over the top so we can work through the winter.”

She explains the bags of cleaned rocky material are entered into a bin, then onto a rotary scrubber, a crusher, an X-ray machine, and then the Dense Medium Separator (DMS). So, not really like Lego at all.

“The secret here is not to break any diamonds. There’s a number of screens and measures throughout the plant to ensure that doesn’t happen,” she says.

By this point I’m itching to ask my ultimate $64,000 question (or should that be $64 billion): Where’s the stash?

Bags of answers

At one corner of the site is a fenced off area where countless bags of cleaned-off kimberlite are lined up row-after-row, their contents patiently waiting to be converted to the raw diamonds the Bulk Sampling Plant will expose. They’ve waited a few billion years to see daylight, so what’s the rush? And to answer a question everyone asks when they first see these 1,200 kilogram bags of material: No, there likely isn’t a handful of crown jewels in each one.

Bags and bags of diamonds? Not quite. It is sample material and each bag could contain around 0.2 carats of precious stones.( Ian Gustafson/paNOW Staff)

While full-blown mining here may one day produce some extraordinary caches, these bags of sample kimberlite may only contain the equivalent of 0.2 of a carat, or around $40 worth. So, it’s probably not worth your while lining up Bonnie and Clyde for a special outing.

Indigenous jobs

Project Falcon is located across the river from the James Smith Cree Nation (JSCN), a factor not lost on Rio Tinto or Star Diamond. Main contractor Nuna Group is majority Inuit-owned with 40 per cent Indigenous employment and has had staff on site for years. A large percentage of Indigenous employees from a 60-kilometre radius are now part of the total 150 workforce here.

150 employees are now on site housed in about a dozen extended modular units 8 km from the work site. There’s a cafeteria , gym, and rec room. And the outdoor beach volleyball court hosted some friendly competition among the various employer groups over the summer. (Ian Gustafson/paNOW Staff)

The JSCN leadership has called for compensation from a project they say needs to satisfy the people’s interests given the environmental damage it will cause. The Saskatchewan government says the First Nation will benefit economically like everyone else will, from jobs. And one of the 90 local employees, 50 of whom are Indigenous, is Willis Head, a field technician.

Willis Head from James Smith Cree Nation is one of 90 local employees on site. (Ian Gustafson/paNOW Staff)

“I’m from right across the river,” Head says as he points to the JSCN. “I’ve been a carpenter and I’m really a jack of all trades. I help out wherever I’m needed including running most of the equipment and vehicles.”

He’s delighted the project is starting to take off.

“It’s awesome. I’ve been here since November 2017 when they were doing some core sampling and it’s nice to see something is here. I love my job and the people I work with, and I let my family know that every day.”

Head reports to Melfort born and raised geologist Clay Hemingson, the project coordinator who handles the logistical operations and day-to-day goings on. He was working in California but sees this job as a way of getting back home to the province.

Project coordinator Clay Hemingson returned from the U.S. to take a job opportunity closer to family. (Ian Gustafson/paNOW Staff)

“The site establishment alone, getting the camp set up, upgrading roads, working with the different contractors, it all involves coordination,” he tells me.

And the site is in constant flux because the trench cutter moves from one location to the next.

“Once the hole is done, the cutter moves to the next one and starts over, so the lines (for traffic and walkways) are always changing.”

Hemingson says as a geologist, the job offers a daily adventure of finding new deposits or studying proven ones.

Tracking environmental aspects

Another Saskatoon-based cog in the whole enterprise is Jessica Stumborg, the environmental officer who deals with permitting requirements and conditions to ensure they’re in compliance.

“This site is an island or pocket forest within agricultural land, so it’s unique that way,” she explains. “Some examples of what we do is to track the water we use from the two ravines here because we have a specific limit.”

Jessica Stumborg is the site’s Environmental Officer. (Ian Gustafson/paNOW Staff)

Stumborg says it’s exciting times but there are important responsibilities.

“Either way, mines always have an impact on the environment, so it’s nice to be part of ensuring it’s being done in the best way possible.”

And that’s the over-arching feeling I have as we leave the high-tech bustle of this site and the extraordinary efforts to extract a commodity that could be a significant and much-needed economical boost in the years ahead; doing things in the best way possible. As if to make sure we’re all on the same page, a red-tailed hawk darts across the windshield as we near the intersection of Highway 55.

A left turn and we’re heading back to Prince Albert. I look in the rear-view mirror. Maybe the tiny hamlet of Shipman will get one of its grocery stores back.

glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow