Tahera geared up at Jericho

Construction of the Jericho diamond mine is well underway now that Tahera Diamond (TAH-T) has assembled all the pieces for the project in Nunavut.

During an eight-week period, the company moved some 550 truckloads of equipment, materials, and supplies to the site along a seasonal ice road. The haul included 5.5 million litres of fuel, a 200-man modular camp facility, plus all the equipment and supplies needed to build the mine.

Site preparation and earthwork activities have been underway at Jericho since mid-February. The company has already erected fuel storage tanks with a capacity of 4 million litres; the project’s accommodation facilities are slated for completion by May 1. Some of the construction personnel are currently being housed at Kinross Gold‘s (K-T) Lupin mine.

If all goes to plan, Tahera figures to have most of the mine built by yearend, with commercial production slated to begin in early 2006. Plans at Jericho call for a small open pit and underground mining operation, with production pegged at 3.1 million carats of diamonds over at least eight years.

Tahera recently inked a diamond purchase and marketing arrangement with jeweller Tiffany & Co. (TIF-N), which will buy a “significant” portion of Jericho’s run-of-mine production, and for a fee sell the remaining stones on the international market for Tahera. Tiffany also agreed to provide a $35-million loan facility to help build the mine (T.N.M., Nov. 8-14/04).