HGC Engineering - News

Monitoring Noise at Ontario's First Diamond Mine

In February, 2007, HGC Engineering commenced a program of environmental industrial noise monitoring and noise control for the new De Beers "Victor Project" diamond mine.  The Victor Project is located in the James Bay Lowlands of Northern Ontario, about 90 km west of the coastal community of Attawapiskat. Construction of the mine began in February 2006. The Victor mine will be the first diamond mine in Ontario and the second in Canada for De Beers.

The engineering and construction of the mine are being handled by AMEC, whose Earth & Environmental division retained HGC Engineering to look after the necessary acoustic assessments and conduct a noise measurement program during the construction and early operation of the mine.  There are traditional First Nations lands neighboring the site, which are still used for trapping and hunting, so industrial noise control is a key element of the environmental management program for the Victor Project.

Over the next three years, HGC Engineering will be monitoring the mining noise for several weeks during the each of the mid-winter and mid-summer periods, and assisting when noise control is needed.  The mine will have an expected life of 12 years and a total project life of 17 years.

HGC Engineering Completes a Large-Scale Site-Wide Industrial Noise Assessment of the Inco Nickel Smelting Facility in Sudbury, Ontario

In March, 2006, HGC Engineering wrapped up a site wide acoustic assessment of Inco’s massive, 630 hectare Nickel Smelting facility in Copper Cliff, Ontario (near Sudbury), one of the largest industrial facilities in North America. The industrial noise assessment was in support of an updated environmental approval for the smelter complex, to consolidate the dozens of existing approvals for this site.  This mammoth acoustical consulting project involved detailed acoustic measurements of more than 250 sound sources, using advance sound intensity methods, entailing six man-weeks of on-site engineering work during the summer and fall of 2005, and months of subsequent engineering analysis. Sound level monitoring was conducted at neighbouring residences, and a noise control evaluation was undertaken for proposed new additions to the facility.