An environmental assessment review panel is expected to submit its final report on the NWT Diamonds project to the federal government for its approval.
The project, situated near Lac de Gras in the Northwest Territories, is projected to become Canada’s first diamond mine. Ownership is shared among BHP Minerals with 51%, Dia Met Minerals (DMM-T) with 29%, and geologists Charles Fipke and Stewart Blusson, who hold the remainder.
Anticipating a favorable recommendation, BHP and Dia Met are proceeding with planning and engineering work in preparation for construction.
Plans call for the development of five diamond-bearing kimberlites by open-pit and underground methods. Over a projected 25-year mine life, about 133 million tonnes of ore will be mined. The initial capital cost of placing the project into production is pegged at US$750 million.
The following five pipes are to be mined:
* The Panda, which averages 0.95 carat per tonne. The diamonds are valued at US$130 per carat, resulting in an overall value of US$124 per tonne for the pipe.
* The Misery, with a grade of 4.19 carats, averages a value of US$26 per carat for an overall value of US$109 per tonne.
* The Koala is valued at US$116 per tonne, based on a grade of 0.95 carat and a diamond value of US$122 per carat.
* The Fox averages a grade of 0.27 carat at a value of US$125 per carat for an overall value of US$34 per tonne.
* The Leslie grades 0.33 carat. Based on an average grade of US$89, the overall value is estimated at US$29 per tonne.
Since last September, nine new kimberlite pipes have been identified, bringing to 66 the number of pipes discovered to date. This past winter, bulk sampling was completed on five previously untested pipes.
A total of 237.6 tonnes of kimberlite was recovered from the Jay pipe, yielding 476.8 carats for an average grade of 2.01 carats. The pipe has yet to be evaluated for its commercial value.
Drilling on the Sable pipe returned 1,096.1 tonnes of sample, from which 1,070.3 carats were recovered for grade of 0.98 carat. The stones included a gem-quality diamond weighing 9 carats.
The diamonds were valued at an average of US$64 per carat (or US$48 if the large stone is excluded). Delineation drilling is continuing on the Sable pipe.
Diamond grades of the three other new pipes, which include the Beaver, Husky and Kit, were deemed too low to warrant additional work.
Core drilling, under way since April, continues to test potential kimberlite targets and undertake geotechnical drilling.
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