Largest new diamond mine opens in NWT

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 American Chief Executive Mark Cutifani, De Beers Group CEO Bruce Cleaver, De Beers Canada CEO Kim Truter, Mountain Province Diamonds CEO Patrick Evans, and representatives of First Nations and Metis communities in the Northwest Territories at an event that included 150 guests from across Canada and around the world.

"Our employees, our business partners and our community partners went above and beyond to deliver this world-class asset ahead of schedule and under budget. All those who played a part from discovery through permitting, construction, commissioning and now first production can be proud to have done so in a safe and environmentally responsible way," said Truter.

Underpinned by a US$1 billion capital investment, the development of Gahcho Kué between has already provided a C$440 million boost to the Northwest Territories economy, according to a recent socio-economic impact study completed for The De Beers Group of Companies.

More than 90 percent of Gahcho Kué's economic impact will be delivered once the mine becomes fully operational, equivalent to a further C$5.3 billion to the territory.

Including its supply chain impacts, the mine supported more than 2,700 jobs in 2015, with employment at the site representing more than 10 percent of employment in the NWT's extractive industries.

-SHANE LASLEY