Vancouver — An agreement has been reached among local native leaders, the federal government and Diavik Diamond Mines regarding the environmental reclamation bond and other land-use issues affecting construction of the $1.3-billion Diavik mine, situated in the Northwest Territories.
All that stands in the way of construction is the issuance of a land-use permit from the federal government. Ownership of Diavik Diamond Mines is split 60-40 between London-based
In mid-January, the project suffered a major setback when, owing to environmental concerns, the federal Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND) refused to issue a temporary permit to allow operators to store equipment on-site. Diavik immediately discontinued all work and repatriated all the non-essential employees from the site.
A month later, Diavik’s management began meeting with local native leaders and representatives of the federal government in an attempt to resolve the impasse.
Diavik spokesman Thomas Hoefer says he is unsure of the degree to which the delay has affected the mine’s construction schedule (startup was planned for 2003), adding that management will have a better idea once shipping is completed: “We haven’t done a reassessment yet, but certainly we’ve lost a tremendous amount of the 2000 program.”
Development must begin quickly if construction is to begin in the second quarter. The winter road is typically open from January to March; however, the land-use permit is not expected until mid-March.
Until now, the most contentious issue has been DIAND’s insistence that Diavik post a bond in excess of $200 million before construction be undertaken. According to the Edmonton Journal, Diavik responded to this by offering to pay aboriginal groups $700,000 per year, with the potential to double the payouts to $1.4 million per year for environmental monitoring.
The project has had a rough ride. Last summer, the Canadian government completed a comprehensive review that concluded: “With the implementation of appropriate mitigation measures, the Diavik diamond project is not likely to cause significant adverse effects.” In November 1999, after two years of work, the partners finally received the environmental clearance.
Then the Canadian Arctic Resources Committee (CARC) and the North Slave Metis Alliance launched a legal challenge in the Federal Court of Canada, seeking a judicial review of the permitting process.
Diavik hosts a diamond resource of about 37 million tonnes grading 3.6 carats per tonne, with an estimated 120 million carats contained in four kimberlite pipes. The mine has the potential to produce 5% of the world’s diamonds by 2003.
The project is on East Island in Lac de Gras, 300 km northeast of Yellowknife and 30 km southeast of the producing Ekati diamond mine.
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