Company hints at more development at Diavik mine
'We've got an opportunity in Diavik...for a further development that you may hear about next year'
The head of Rio Tinto says 2015 could bring news of additional development at the N.W.T.'s Diavik diamond mine.
"We've got an opportunity in Diavik... for a further development that you may hear about next year," Sam Walsh, CEO of Rio Tinto, told Bloomberg on the floor of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in Beijing on Monday.
Walsh's comment caps years of uncertainty about the future of a fourth undeveloped pipe at Diavik, dubbed A21.
Three diamond-bearing kimberlite pipes have been developed at Diavik since 2003. It's not clear whether A21 would help extend the life of the mine, which could close by 2023, according to the mine's other owner, Dominion Diamond Corporation.
The Diavik mine currently employs just over 1,000 people, nearly half of whom are northerners.
Walsh also spoke encouragingly about his company's outlook on diamonds.
"Diamonds? I love diamonds," he said. "It's an asset that I'd like to nurture."