ATTAWAPISKAT - Feeling disappointed but not completely surprised is the reaction from Timmins Mayor Steve Black on the announcement that De Beers Canada is shutting down its Victor diamond mine near Attawapiskat...It is scheduled to close in 2019.

One possible upside of the De Beers shutdown is that it might prompt more Indigenous people to move out from the James Bay Coast and into Timmins.

“I think if you look at employees from De Beers and the Victor Mine, it has been a great opportunity to develop a skillset and develop a trained workforce and those employees definitely have opportunities to go work anywhere in the mining industry,” said Black.

“Hopefully there will be many opportunities in the Timmins area for them in the future.”

http://www.timminspress.com/2017/11/02/victors-closing-sad-but-inevitable-mayor-black