Ekati Owners in Plea for Government Help
October 01, 24
(IDEX Online) - The owners of Ekati, Canada's first diamond mine, say it could close or be sold, unless the government steps in to help.
Australia-based Burgundy says diamond prices have dropped 20 per cent since it bought the deposit in July 2023 and it has been forced to put plans for further development on hold.
It says there is no technical reason why the Ekati mine, which began commercial operations in October 1998, and which provides the region with 1,200 jobs, couldn't continue until 2040 or beyond.
But it laments the lack of assistance from the authorities in Canada's Northwest Territories (NWT).
In a letter to NWT Premier Robert Simpson, Burgundy's CEO Kim Truter says that despite recent turmoil in the diamond industry, it has received very little support.
In addition he says environmental requirements are getting unnecessarily more onerous, government agencies are inflexible to change, and the burden placed on the asset is increasing.
"Should this trend continue, then Burgundy will need to revisit the viability of the Ekati asset and focus on growth elsewhere," he says.
"This would be tragic, as there is no technical reason why the Ekati asset could not keep operating until at least 2040 and beyond due to the significant diamond resources that remain undeveloped on the property."
He says that if Burgundy can successfully operate for the next 25 years, its estimated contribution to the NWT economy could be as much as $500m.
Pic of Ekati mine, courtesy Burgundy.