16 May 2017
YELLOWKNIFE, CANADA (May 12, 2017) – Dominion Diamond Corporation (Dominion) received the Environmental Excellence Award from the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists (NAPEG) at an awards banquet in Yellowknife last night for the company’s efforts in the preservation of the environment, and practice of sustainable development.
The award was presented to Dominion for the organic waste management process at the Ekati mine, which includes an industrial scale composter, along with incineration, landfill, and hazardous waste management practices. Chantal Lavoie, Dominion’s Chief Operating Officer, received the award on behalf of the company.
Brendan Bell, Chief Executive Officer, said, “Dominion is honoured to be recognized once again for our efforts in progressive waste management. We are particularly proud of our teams at site, who have worked hard to transform how waste is managed in order to reduce emissions, improve sustainability, and keep the environment clean and safe.”
Since purchasing the Ekati mine in 2013, Dominion has been working hard to modify procedures, improve organic waste management awareness across site and invest in innovative technologies to reduce waste, fuel and water consumption.
Dominion has received particular recognition for being the first northern mine to compost a significant portion of waste through its industrial composting unit, which was brought online in 2015. Today, over half of the organic waste at the Ekati mine is composted.
Dominion thanks the team that worked on the program for many years, including Rodney Gamble, Dustin Chaffee and Joe Poirier, under the leadership of Howard Nowell in his role as Superintendent of Facilities at that time. Further information about the Waste Management Program is included below.
Earlier this month, Dominion also received the Environmental Excellence Award from Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) in recognition of the company’s comprehensive waste management program at the Ekati mine.
This is the second NAPEG award the company has won in recent years. In 2015, NAPEG awarded Dominion in the Civic Award category for local community initiatives that the company supports, specifically the Food Rescue program.