The management of Diavik Diamond Mines is meeting with local native leaders and representatives of the federal government in Yellowknife, N.W.T., in an attempt to resolve the environmental impasse that has halted construction of the company’s $1.3-billion diamond project in the Northwest Territories.
Diavik, ownership of which is split 40-60 between
In mid-January, the project suffered a major setback when the federal Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development refused to issue a temporary permit to allow operators to store equipment on-site. Diavik immediately discontinued all work and began repatriating all non-essential employees from the site.
Environmentalists and native groups support the government’s decision, arguing that the issuance of a land-use permit would allow construction to proceed before the regulatory process is complete. Diavik reportedly responded to this criticism by offering to pay aboriginal groups $700,000 per year, with the potential to double these payouts to $1.4 million per year for environmental monitoring.
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 for the project.
However, the Canadian Arctic Resources Committee (CARC) and the North Slave Metis Alliance then launched a legal challenge in the Federal Court of Canada, seeking a judicial review of the permitting process.
Diavik hosts a diamond resource exceeding 120 million carats contained in four kimberlite pipes. It 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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