MINING NEWS: Alaskans tour Canadian diamond mines

More than two dozen Alaskans visited the diamond mines of Canada’s Northwest Territories in early July in a tour organized by the Alaska Miners Association.

Following the tour, Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski, a member of the tour group, said “Alaska and its neighbors in the Yukon Territory, the Northwest Territories and throughout Canada share a common goal of responsible development to meet worldwide demand for our resources. … Whether drilling for oil and gas, hard-rock mining for gold, digging for base metals — or even mining diamonds — northerners have a lot of knowledge to share with each other, and visits such as this one are key to building a close, working relationship. Anytime we can get together and discuss mutual problems, ideas and successes, everyone benefits.”

Steve Borell, executive director of the miners association, called the tour “a great success” in his monthly report to members.

“At Diavik and Ekati we saw the most modern mines in the world. These were very impressive operations, both in size and in other ways. Both of the operations are mining multiple kimberlite pipes at the same time to ensure constant diamond production. In some cases this requires a year or more of pre-stripping,” Borell said.

Besides size, he said the other things that stood out were the “orderliness and cleanliness of the mill, maintenance shops and camps.”Borell said he was also impressed with the security at the two diamond mines. “Security was evident everywhere.”

Tour members also flew over the new Snap Lake project which received its final approvals in June to begin construction.

Borell said there was “one sad note” on the group’s visit to Yellowknife. “At the Giant Mine, an underground gold mine that has operated for 65 years, the night shift underground on July 7th was its last. Processing of some previously mined low grade and reclamation of the facilities and site area are all that remain to be done at this once proud operation.”