Diamonds are NWT’s best friend

Gary Park, Petroleum News Calgary correspondent

The Northwest Territories is uncovering a gold mine in its diamond deposits.

The first parcel of sparklers to be shipped from the Diavik Mine fetched an average US$96.22 per carat, about US$17.20 higher than what was predicted in a feasibility study, said joint owner Aber Diamond Corp.

“The diamonds are better than expected,” said Aber chief executive officer Robert Gannicott.

He noted that the first shipment was not an accurate indicator of future value since the diamonds were recovered from loose, low grade material lying on top of the main target of future mining.

“We are not really mining the formal part of the ore reserve,” said Gannicott.

It will take until August for the mine to ramp up to normalized production.

Of the total sale of 42,619 carats, 77 percent went through the Antwerp open market and 23 percent were bought by jewelry retailer Tiffany & Co.

The Diavik mine is 40 percent owned by Toronto-based Aber and 60 percent by London-based Rio Tinto PLC, which have just named Joe Carrabba, a veteran Rio Tinto executive, as the new president and chief operating officer of the project.

Diavik is Canada’s second diamond mine. The first, Ekati, started production from its NWT site in 1998.