Mining News: Northern Neighbors: Diavik diamond production down 20%

Dominion Diamond Corp. April 20 said Diavik Diamond Mine processing volumes for the first quarter of 2015 fell 19 percent compared to the first three months of last year. The company attributes this decrease to the lack of stockpile ore that was available last year; mining through an area of higher-than-normal dilution; and upgrades made to the crusher during the quarter, which led to reduced capacity. As a result, 1.5 million carats of diamonds were recovered during the first quarter of this year, a 20 percent decrease from the 1.87 million carats recovered during the same period of 2014. Roughly 6.7 million carats of diamonds are expected to be recovered from run-of-mine ore at Diavik during 2015. An additional 300,000 carats are projected to be recovered from coarse ore rejects processed at the mine this year.

- Shane Lasley