Expiring N.W.T. diamond mines talk growth and helping employees move on

Rio Tinto says it's still looking for ways to extend the life of its diamond mine in the N.W.T. But during a geosciences forum in Yellowknife this week, an official with the company said it has started rolling out a program to help employees and contractors at Diavik to transition to something else — once it shuts down. 

Angela Bigg, the mine's president and chief operating officer, said Diavik is "really keen" to keep its workers up to the point operations end, which is projected to be in 2025. 

"If [employees] stay with us, and take advantage of the opportunities we have to offer, they'll also have some pretty robust financial security," Bigg said in an interview.

The Yellowknife Geoscience Forum is organized by the NWT & Nunavut Chamber of Mines and the territorial government. During a mining update there Thursday, Bigg said the Diavik My Path program can support employees on five paths post-Diavik: being redeployed at another Rio Tinto operation, working for another mine in the North, accessing training opportunities, retiring or starting their own businesses. 

Bigg said every one of the mine's 1,200 employees and contractors will be offered one-on-one career counselling in the next few months to help them decide what path they want to take. She hopes it'll help them to feel empowered. 

"There's a legacy of mines not doing the best thing for the employees, not giving them an opportunity to view completing a mine's activities as a good thing," said Bigg. "We're really keen for people to stay with us until we've completed our operations and then help … launch them out into something else they'd like to do after us." 

Bigg said a more clear picture of the timeline for closure is expected in early 2023.

Ore holds promise at Gahcho Kué

Gahcho Kué is also nearing its end in the N.W.T. — but DeBeers (the majority owner of Gahcho Kué) seems to be holding more hope than Rio Tinto for extending the lifespan of its respective operation. 

Lyndon Clark, the mine's general manager, told a tightly packed Capitol Theatre auditorium there is ore to be studied at its Hearn pit that appears to paint a "compelling underground story." 

Clark says the ore carries potential for another eight years of mine life, but that studies are currently being done to figure out if it's worth spending money on exploring it further. He expects a decision by the end of the month.

"Quite exciting, it's much nicer to be talking about growth than closure, for sure," he said. 

Clark also said it's been a tough year for Gahcho Kué. He started his presentation by acknowledging the workplace death of a young heavy duty mechanic at the start of September, and said COVID-19 and staffing shortages have also been affecting Gahcho Kué's performance. 

"We just didn't mine enough," he said. He said workforce numbers are starting to improve, however, and that October and November have been "good months." 

Gahcho Kué is currently slated to start sunsetting its operation in 2027 and for mining to end in 2030. 

Underwater mining machine heading North

An underwater mining machine that may extend the lifespan of a third N.W.T. diamond mine is going to be coming North early next year. 

Arctic Canadian Diamond Company (ACDC) — which owns Ekati diamond mine — partnered with Dutch company Royal IHC, a supplier of maritime technology, to build the machine. Rory Moore, the president and CEO of ACDC said Thursday that testing in Holland is done and the device is being shipped to Canada in February. 

The machine operates on four suspended tracks, with a rotating drum in the middle equipped with a blade to cut through the kimberlite, with an auxiliary cutter on the side. Behind the drum, a big hydrophilic pump sends the cuttings up the line to the surface and then onto a dewatering plant.

Rory said that an underwater production trial is set to take place in 2024. 

"If that technique works, there's good potential to extend Ekati much longer," said Moore. Ekati's lifespan currently ends in 2029.