The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Sorted by date Results 51 - 75 of 121
Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. Aug. 3 said the commissioning of the Gahcho Kué diamond plant in Northwest Territories has been completed ahead of schedule and the ramp up to commercial production has commenced. Gahcho Kué remains on track to achieve commercial production on schedule during the first quarter of 2017. A joint venture between De Beers Canada (51 percent) and Mountain Province Diamonds (49 percent), Gahcho Kué is anticipated to produce 53.4 million carats of diamonds over a 12-year mine-life, according to a 20...
The De Beers Group Sept. 20 reported the opening of Gahcho Kué, the world's largest new diamond mine. A joint venture between De Beers (51 percent) and Mountain Province Diamonds (49 percent), the Gahcho Kué Mine in Northwest Territories is expected to produce some 54 million carats of rough diamonds from about 35 million metric tons of scheduled material over a 12-year lifetime. Comprised of three open pits, the mine will employ 530 people full-time. Gahcho Kué was opened officially by De Beers Group Chairman and Anglo Am...
Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. provided its first quarterly production report Oct. 24 for the new Gahcho Kué diamond mine in the Northwest Territories. From the Aug. 1 start of ramp-up production to Sept. 30, the plant produced 198,000 carats of diamonds from roughly 130,000 metric tons of ore. Mountain Province, which holds a 49 percent joint venture interest in Gahcho Kué, owns roughly 97,000 carats from the quarterly production. Its partner in the mine, De Beers Canada, received the balance. The first sale of Mountain P...
While most mining jurisdictions have seen sharp drops in mineral exploration spending, such investments in Northwest Territories has largely held steady at about C$100 million annually during the past five years. As a result, this diamond-rich territory accounted for roughly 7 percent of mineral exploration spending in Canada in 2016, compared with only about 2 percent in 2011. The ultimate measure of mineral exploration success is not the amount of exploration dollars spent...
With Canada's newest diamond mine looming on the horizon in Northwest Territories, crews at the Kennady North project about seven kilometers (4.5 miles) to the southwest, do not have far to look for inspiration. It is not serendipitous that Gahcho Kué – a mine being ramped up to commercial production by De Beers Canada (51 percent) and Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. (49 percent) – and Kennady North are within eyesight of each other. In fact, Kennady Diamonds Inc. was spun...
As the summer’s midnight sun gives way to aurora-filled winter night skies, seasons are once again changing in Canada’s Northwest Territories. And, much like the seasons, our resource industries are also in a time of transition. The NWT celebrates 25 years of diamonds this year with the opening of De Beers and Mountain Province’s Gahcho Kué, the world’s largest new diamond mine, which is expected to pour more than C$6 billion into our economy over its lifetime. Projects...
Kennady Diamonds Inc. Nov. 15 reported the results of a valuation of 2,262.43 carats of commercial sized diamonds recovered from the Kelvin kimberlite at the company's Kennady North project in Northwest Territories. Belgium-based WWW International Diamond Consultants reported an average value of US$52 per carat for the parcel, with the very encouraging presence of high value gem quality stones noted in 2015 confirmed in the 2016 bulk sample, including a 2.84 carat diamond valued at US$2,640 per carat. "Based on the results...
Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. June 20 reported mechanical completion of the primary crusher at Gahcho Kué and that commissioning of the process plant at the Northwest Territories diamond mine continues to progress well. Gahcho Kué - a joint venture between De Beers Canada (51 percent) and Mountain Province Diamonds (49 percent) - expects to begin production sometime during the third quarter. Mountain Province President and CEO Patrick Evans said, "We are pleased with the c...
Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. May 9 reported that development of the Gahcho Kué diamond mine in Northwest Territories is roughly 94 percent complete and on track for first production during the second half of 2016. Mountain Province President and CEO Patrick Evans said, "Mechanical completion has been achieved at the process plant and truck shop, and we are on schedule to achieve mechanical completion of the primary crusher during the current quarter. Key areas of focus...
Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. March 14 reported that development of the Gahcho Kué diamond mine is more than 87 percent complete and remains on track to begin production during the second half of this year. "Key areas of focus are remaining earthworks, commissioning of the primary crusher and diamond plant, pre-stripping and stockpiling of kimberlite as well as preparations for operational readiness," said Mountain Province President and CEO Patrick Evans. "We are also...
The Conference Board of Canada Feb. 24 said declining metal and mineral prices, rising global inventories of most mining commodities and easing growth in the Chinese economy will weigh on the economies of Canada's territories in 2016. Nunavut and Yukon are expected to see positive but modest growth this year, but the economy of the Northwest Territories will remain virtually flat, according to the latest "Territorial Outlook" published by the independent research...
The De Beers Group of Companies Dec. 4 announced that it is placing the Snap Lake diamond mine on care and maintenance. The company said it will evaluate market conditions over the next year to determine the potential of resuming operations at the underground mine in Northwest Territories. The process of suspending production at Snap Lake is underway. During the care and maintenance period, environmental monitoring and work required under the mine's permits will continue....
Crystal Exploration Inc. Nov. 25 said it has acquired three diamond properties in the Nunavut portion of the Slave Structural Province of the Canadian Shield. The properties encompass the Muskox, Rush and James River diamond-bearing kimberlites. The Muskox kimberlite, which was discovered in 1996 by DeBeers Canada and explored through joint venture with Tahera Corp. to 2006, is known to yield diamond grades during a magmatic phase of 0.53 carats per metric ton and diamond...
Mineral exploration spending in Northwest Territories dipped sharply in 2015. While the final numbers are not in, Natural Resources Canada predicts exploration and deposit appraisal expenditures in the territory to be around C$43.6 million, or less than half the roughly C$95.8 million invested last year. Industry and government leaders in the territory, however, have come together "to develop a robust mineral industry in the NWT." In January, the government announced the...
Canterra Minerals Corp. Sept. 3 said it is carrying out a till sampling program across its South Slave project, a group of properties that are situated between De Beers Canada's Snap Lake diamond mine and the Gahcho Kué diamond project, being developed by De Beers Canada and Mountain Province Diamonds. Canterra has built a proprietary database that includes more than 22,850 till samples, 42,000 microprobe analyses and 71,500 line-kilometers of airborne and ground geophysics in...
Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. July 7 reported that development of the Gahcho Kué diamond mine is progressing according to plan and budget with the overall project roughly 62 percent complete at the end of May. Key areas of focus are continued dewatering to expose the kimberlites, the placement of concrete foundations and the erection of steel superstructures of the major facilities. A key milestone is to ensure that the process plant building is enclosed by October. Gahcho...
Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. April 7 reported closing a US$370 million term loan facility, which finalizes the company's anticipated funding requirements for the construction and commissioning of the Gahcho Kué diamond mine in Northwest Territories. Gahcho Kué, a joint venture between De Beers Canada (51 percent) and Mountain Province Diamonds (49 percent), is anticipated to produce 53.4 million carats of diamonds over a 12-year mine-life, according to an updated feasibility study released in 2014. Mountain Province r...
Thanks to recent progress in development of several major projects in 2014, the outlook for diamond mining in Northwest Territories is suddenly a lot brighter. This is especially good news for the territory's mining industry, which is largely dependent on the production of diamonds now and in the foreseeable future. This point was driven home most forcefully in "Measuring Success 2014: NWT Diamond Mines Continue to Create Benefits," a report recently released by the NWT & Nunavut Chamber of Mines. An update of a January 2013...
After ushering in devolution in concert with implementing the first phase of a well-reasoned mineral development strategy, the Northwest Territories is eager to attract new mineral resource investment in 2014 in hopes of building on an uptick in exploration activity in recent years. "The Canadian North is the next frontier in mining and mineral development and nowhere is this more evident than in the NWT," said NWT Industry, Tourism, and Investment Minister David Ramsay. Home to the third-richest diamond resources in the...
Since being spun-out of Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. in the summer of 2012, Kennady Diamonds Inc. has had a singular focus - find a next-generation Northwest Territories diamond mine at its Kennady North diamond project located 280 kilometers (174 miles) northeast of Yellowknife. Receiving a highly prospective diamond property enveloping three sides of the Gahcho Kué diamond mine project and C$3 million in seed money in exchange for slightly more than 16 million common...
MPV: TSX / MDM: NYSE Chairman: Jonathan Comerford President and CEO: Patrick Evans Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. is an exploration company hoping to transition to diamond miner upon a 2016 start-up at the Gahcho Kué project located about 300 kilometers (186 miles) northeast of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. Gahcho Kué, a joint venture between De Beers Canada (51 percent) and Mountain Province Diamonds (49 percent), is anticipated to produce 53.4 million carats of diamonds over a 12-year mine-life, according to an u...
Government policymakers in Canada and the Northwest Territories are joining mining companies in preparing for an employment boom that economists predict will swamp the North in the next three to five years. The anticipated surge in jobs is part of a nationwide wave of employment growth expected in the next decade. Canada will need 145,000 new workers in the mining sector along with 300,000 new workers in construction and 150,000 new workers in petroleum. The mining-driven Northwest Territories economy generates nearly 50...
The Dene First Nations of Northwest Territories has created what is likely Canada's first 100 percent aboriginal-owned exploration and mining company. Named DemCo Limited Partnership, the startup will celebrate one year in business in October, and is already making its mark in the industry. DemCo's mission is to enable the Dene to become owners of hardrock mines operating on their own lands. The new company is owned by Denendeh Investments Limited Partnership, which has a membership comprised of First Nations from the five...
Diamonds exploration heated up in the Northwest Territories in 2014 as more and more companies mounted campaigns aimed at identifying the next big discovery in a region that has already produced three operating diamond mines and one well-advanced mine project. "It's been an exciting season for us because on April 1, we took over management of mineral and oil and gas resources in the territory. Overall, we're seeing a consistent trend for exploration as well as a bit of a resurgence of interest in diamonds," Pam Strand,...
Mineral exploration activity held its own in Nunavut in 2013, despite a tough funding environment and stiff competition from other attractive mining jurisdictions around the world. Of the mineral projects edging closer to development in the territory, the Mary River iron project is likely the closest to startup. For the past two years, the venture, spearheaded by Baffinland Iron Mines Corp., has headlined mining news coming from the Qikiqtani, the territory's easternmost region. The Qikiqtani Region is Nunavut's largest...
