Resource World Magazine

f e b r u a r y / m a r c h 2 0 1 6 www.resourceworld.com 31 advanced stages of exploration. Canada ranked fourth in world annual diamond production and third by value behind Russia and Botswana in 2014. Natural Resources Canada reported Canada's 2014 production at 12.08 million carats val- ued at $2.225 billion. The NWT dominated Canadian production and its three mines alone put Canada into this global position producing some 11.4 million carats valued at nearly $1.8 billion. Canada's only other operating mine, Victor in Ontario, produced 650,000 carats of very high quality dia- monds valued at $432 million. Production is expected to rise to 15 million carats in 2017 when full production is achieved from the Gahcho Kué and Renard mines. World pro- duction in 2014 from 54 mechanized mines is reported at 124.8 million carats led by Russia at an estimated 38.3 million carats and Botswana at 24.7 carats. Producing mines Northwest territories: There are two oper- ating diamond mines in the NWT – Ekati and Diavik – where production began in 1998 and 2003, respectively, on or near the shores of Lac de Gras. A third mine at Snap Lake 50 km south of Lac de Gras began production in 2008 but ceased operation in December 2015 and was placed on temporary care and main- tenance. All three operations are serviced by a winter road from late January to early March from Yellowknife and by air-support the rest the year. The Lac de Gras mines are about 220 km south of the Arctic Circle and about 300 km northeast of Yellowknife and are in one of the harshest weather locations in the world. However, due to the high-grade and quality of the diamonds both operations have been highly profitable ventures to their owners. The Ekati discovery was the starting point in making Canada a major diamond producing nation. Now in its 17th year of operation, it is the show case of an operat- ing diamond mine in Canada. Dia Met's discovery was initially funded by BHP Minerals when diamonds in Canada were considered a wild dream by believers from Kelowna, BC, and proved to be a game changer. The Lac de Gras discovery made fortunes for those who realized diamonds could be found beneath northern Canada's Arctic terrain. The Ekati diamond mine is 88.9%- owned by Dominion Diamond corp. [DDC-TSX; NYSE] which also holds varied property interests in the area. The Ekati discovery created a diamond search that spread hundreds of kilometres across much of central Canada. The mag- nitude of job creation and national wealth generated from diamond exploration and mining is measured in billions of dollars earned to date and to be continued for many years to come. Ekati production from Koala (underground), Misery (open pit) and Coarse Ore Rejects for the year ending January 2015 was 3.2 million carats from 4.1 million tonnes at a grade of 0.76 carats/ tonne (c/t). Future production from kimberlites Misery, Pigeon, Lynx, Jay, Sable and Fox will insure a long life for Ekati. The Jay pipe, for example, has 84.6 million carats of probable reserves and 90.6 million carats of indicated resources and is expected to begin initial production by 2020 with a mine life of 10-11 years. The Diavik Mine represents one of the greatest engineering feats in Canada with the mining of three kimberlites within Lac de Gras by three open pits surrounded by rock-filled dikes or fences. The three open pits have been converted to underground operations and a fourth dike-enclosed open pit mine (A 21) is to start operations in late 2018. Diavik is owned by a subsidiary of rio tinto plc [RIO-NYSE], 60%, and Dominion Diamond [DDC-TSX, NYSE], 40%. As of December 2014, Diavik has pro- duced approximately 90 million carats of diamonds since production began in 2003. In 2014, 7.23 million carats were produced from 2.28 million tonnes of ore grading 3.17 c/t. As of December 31, 2014, the mine had 39.6 million carats of proven reserves and 13.7 million carats of probable reserves. The current mine plan has production con- tinuing to 2023. In December 2015, Diavik announced the recovery of a 187.7-carat diamond named the Diavik Foxfire – the

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