The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Winter shutdown, arctic cold, staffing issues cause problems North of 60 Mining News – April 16, 2021
Lower-than-expected equipment availability, a higher-than-average number of extreme weather events, and manpower availability issues contributed to the challenges of restarting production at Gahcho Kué during the winter.
Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. April 13 reported a drop in diamond production at Gahcho Kué due to an unplanned 22-day shutdown related to the February COVID-19 outbreak at the Northwest Territories mine.
Diamond production at Gahcho Kué, which is owned by De Beers Canada Inc. (51%) and Mountain Province (49%), was shut down on Feb. 6 after several crew members tested positive for COVID-19. The partners began ramping up production again on Feb. 26, no easy task in the depth of winter in Canada's arctic.
Lower-than-expected equipment availability, a higher-than-average number of extreme weather events in Canada's North, and manpower availability issues made the restart at Gahcho Kué problematic and resulted in reduced diamond production during the first three months of 2021.
"The impact of the COVID-19 outbreak at the mine during the quarter was very unfortunate, particularly with all the additional safety protocols and avoidance procedures that were in place. This highlights the ease with which the virus can spread," said Mountain Province Diamonds President and CEO Stuart Brown.
Gahcho Kué processed 625,582 metric tons of ore during the first quarter, which is 31% less than the 902,506 metric tons produced during the same period of 2020. With higher-grade ore, however, the mine produced 682,143 carats of diamond during the first quarter of 2021, which is only down 16% from the 811,009 recovered during the first three months of last year.
Mountain Province sees Gahcho Kué production and global diamond markets improving as it appears that the worst of the pandemic has passed.
"Pleasingly, the plant has continued to perform well, and we are starting to catch up on the carat production deficit. This together with the continued price increases seen as well as the relative stability in the markets, is encouraging," said Brown. "With global vaccination rates increasing, we're beginning to see a path to a return to normalcy, and with it the potential for continued diamond market recovery."
With the lessons learned from the COVID outbreak, initiatives are underway to counter potential staffing challenges in the future. These include a recruitment drive for relief equipment operators, as well as targeted equipment availability improvements.
Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.
Reader Comments(0)