Hearings this week on Ekati diamond mine's Jay pipe expansion
Meetings to be held in Yellowknife, Behchoko and Lutsel K'e
The Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board kicks off a series of public hearings about Dominion Diamond Corporation's proposed expansion of the Ekati diamond mine in Yellowknife today.
The hearings will focus on the Jay project's potential environmental impacts. The declining Bathurst caribou herd is expected to be a key topic of conversation.
Hearings take place today at Yellowknife's Explorer Hotel from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and then from 6 p.m. on. Additional Yellowknife sessions will be at the Explorer Hotel on Tuesday, and on Wednesday at the Tree of Peace Friendship Centre on 51st Street near Franklin Avenue.
The hearings will continue in Behchoko at the cultural centre Thursday from 1 to 8 p.m. and in Lutsel K'e Friday from 1 to 8 p.m. at the Lockhart Centre.
Dominion Diamonds announced Thursday it wants to start construction on a different, already permitted diamond pipe in the first half of next year. Without either expansion, Ekati will close in the next four to five years.