Northwest Territories’ diamond mines push Canada to third place

Gary Park

Petroleum News Calgary correspondent

Canada has rocketed to third place among the world’s diamond producers, a mere dozen years after the gems were first discovered in the Northwest Territories.

With two mines in production, Canada contributed 15 percent of the global supply in 2003, hurdling over South Africa and trailing only Russia and Botswana, Canadian government statistics showed Jan. 13. Since the opening of the Ekati mine in 1998, followed by Diavik last year, companies have invested C$2.6 billion in developing the industry and production totaled 13.8 million carats at an average price per carat of C$228 by the end of 2002.

Production for the first six months of 2003 was already within 17 percent of the output for all of 2002.

The number of full-time miners in the Northwest Territories is about 700, with related jobs boosting the total to 2,200. In 2001, miners earned an average C$64,336, about 44 percent more than other miners, while all employees earned an average C$61,639.

Once the Snap Lake mine is opened in 2006, the three mines will generate royalties of C$1.6 billion over their working lives as well as federal business taxes of C$2.6 billion and Northwest Territories’ business taxes of C$1.3 billion. The Northwest Territories, as part of its campaign to take greater control of its natural resources, wants a bigger share of the revenues and is pushing hard to develop a domestic cutting and polishing industry.