Yellowknife retiree spins copper into gold for local women's society

A Yellowknife woman is taking used copper wire from a nearby diamond mine and turning it into a windfall for the local women's society.

Working in an unheated tent in an industrial parking lot on the edge of the city, 65-year-old retiree Diane Hache cuts through plastic insulation to reveal the treasure buried inside. 

The wire — 88,000 pounds of it, so far, or about five seacans worth — was donated by Hache's former employer, Diavik Diamond Mine. It's been slowly processed and sold by Hache over the past two years. 

The result? A $94,000 donation to the Yellowknife Women's Society in October, with another, even larger donation coming by Christmas, Hache says. 

Hache says learning the process has been all-encompassing, but extremely rewarding. She could sell the wire without stripping away the insulation, but that would only net her half as much money. 

"Seven days a week, every day," she says. "I couldn't see the end ... and I committed to see this to the end. But being alone, you see how much time it takes."

"Everyone thought I was crazy, I admit. They said, 'Diane, it's impossible.' 

"But impossible is just an opinion until you try."

Watch: take a look at Diane Hache's mission to learn a new skill, and raise money for a good cause: 

Yellowknife woman turns used copper into $94 K for women's society

4 years ago

Duration 2:02

Yellowknife woman turns used copper into $94 K for women's society