BHP Billiton Approves $182 million Panda Project at Ekati

Global diversified miner BHP Billiton today (Tuesday) announced the approval of a $182 million underground project at the Panda pit of the Ekati diamond mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories.  BHP’s share of the investment is $146 million.

The project is forecast to deliver around 4.7 million carats of diamonds over a six-year production life from Panda.

Initial production is expected to start early next year with full production in early 2006.

The open pit part of the Panda mine was the original Ekati ore body and was mined from October 1998 until its economic pit depth was reached in June 2003.  

Subsequent engineering work and test mining has determined that underground recovery of the lower parts of the Panda ore body is technically feasible and economically worthwhile.

“The production grades and diamond quality at Ekati are declining as the mine ages,” says President of Diamonds and Specialty Products, Marcus Randolph. 

“The development will partially arrest this decline during its six year life by supplying about 20 percent of the mine feed (2,600 tons per day) to the plant while producing about 40 percent of the diamond output by value. The underground material will deliver margins three times greater than the material it displaces.”

The Ekati mine, which started production in 1998, produces almost 4 percent of world diamond production by weight and six percent by value.