Yellowknife (Oct 18/06) - De Beers Canada and its Gahcho Kue diamond project partners are taking the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board to court.

A judicial hearing is slated for Nov. 21 in Yellowknife at which point De Beers will appeal the Review Board's decision requiring an environmental impact review of the proposed mine.

With a 51 per cent interest in Gahcho Kue, De Beers is the operator.

Other companies with a stake in what would be the NWT's fourth diamond mine include Mountain Province Diamonds, 44.1 per cent, and Camphor Ventures, 4.9 per cent.

Even with the hearing scheduled for late November, Praven Varshney, a director with Camphor Ventures, remains hopeful permits will be issued on schedule.

"We are still optimistic the projected timelines will continue," he said.

Construction for the Gahcho Kue project, which is located 90 km southeast of De Beers' Snap Lake mine, is slated to begin in 2009, he said.

Going to court remains the most efficient way to move forward at this point, he said.

On June 12, the Review Board made its decision to change the current environmental assessment being carried out at the Gahcho Kue project and instead demanded an environmental impact review.

Seven key points of inquiry regarding the decision for an impact review were outlined in a June 28 document, said Vern Christensen, executive director with the board.

Raised during the community consultations, these include: effects on caribou, water quality and fish, downstream water effects, long-term biophysical effects, substance abuse and decrease in family/community cohesion, increasing social disparity, as well as the long-term social, cultural and economic affect.

An environmental impact review is the most rigorous review the board can require and would include a panel of non-board members affecting the final decision. An environmental assessment would take between one and two years to complete, and Christensen said a full-blown impact would only need a few months longer.

With the De Beers appeal before a judge, neither type of assessment can proceed until a ruling is issued - which may not happen until the new year, he said.

The board began looking at the environmental review of Gahcho Kue in December 2005.