The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
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Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. March 23 reported that strong diamond prices during 2022 resulted in the company's highest-ever annual revenue from the Gahcho Kué Mine in Canada's Northwest Territories. Owned under a joint venture between Mountain Province (49%) and De Beers Canada Inc. (51%), Gahcho Kué produced 5.52 million carats of diamonds during 2022. While this is a 12% drop from the 6.23 million carats produced during 2021, higher diamond values last year more than m...
In its effort to identify and delineate diamond-rich kimberlites that will extend the life of Gahcho Kué Mine in Northwest Territories beyond 2030, Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. is involved with exploration on two fronts. Located about 280 kilometers (175 miles) northeast of the NWT capital city of Yellowknife, Gahcho Kué is a diamond mine owned and operated by a joint venture between De Beers Canada Inc. (51%) and Mountain Province (49%). Going into 2022, Gahcho Kué ho...
Mining activity in Northwest Territories held steady in 2022 despite constraints imposed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as a cadre of mainly junior mining companies took up the international challenge to seek out large deposits of critical minerals. Early in the year, government officials noted that industry interest in diamonds, gold, and especially critical minerals boded well for the NWT economy in the coming year. "An exciting new chapter is emerging for mining in the...
Mineral exploration activity in Northwest Territories showed signs of revival in 2021, coming on the heels of the slowest year in recent memory. Excited by renewed interest in gold deposits in and around the capital city of Yellowknife and other hot spots after the pandemic-related restrictions of 2020, juniors joined longtime explorers Nighthawk Gold Corp. and Gold Terra Resource Corp. (formerly TerraX Minerals) in hunting for the yellow metal across the 1.14...
Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. has two active exploration programs focused on discovering new diamond-rich kimberlites to extend the life of Gahcho Kué, a diamond mine in Northwest Territories owned under a joint venture between De Beers Canada Inc. (51%) and Mountain Province (49%). The first program, which is carried out by the Gahcho Kué Joint Venture, is focused on exploring for discoveries across the 5,216-hectare (12,889 acres) Gahcho Kué property that can extend th...
For many mining companies eyeing prospects in Canada's far north, 2020 presented insurmountable challenges. But for the few explorers and producers focused on Northwest Territories, the year proved to be quite productive, even as a global coronavirus pandemic added expensive restrictions to already costly campaigns. Rigorous restrictions imposed by local and federal officials to quell potential outbreaks of the disease at mining camps and prevent its spread to local...
Explorers seeking new mineral discoveries in the Northwest Territories are expected to spend less in 2018 than the C$90 million they shelled out collectively last year. Natural Resources Canada projects spending this year for mineral exploration and deposit appraisals in the northern territory will total C$81.3 million. But some observers expect to see an uptick in hardrock mining exploration in 2018, especially in the highly prospective Slave Province where the Northwest...
Though world diamond markets remain closed after their shutdown this spring in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, diamond mining in Canada's North is showing signs of life. One mine, Ekati, shut down in the spring remains closed and most explorers have delayed field work until 2021, an intrepid few are reporting pre-pandemic progress and post-pandemic activities. In the spring, the governments of Northwest Territories and Nunavut imposed strict operating guidelines for all...
Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. July 11 announced the discovery of a new kimberlite roughly 200 meters east of the planned open pit mining area for the Tuzo kimberlite on the Gahcho Kué Mine property in Northwest Territories. Named after Alice Evelyn Wilson (1881-1964), who is officially recognized as Canada's first female geologist, Wilson is the first kimberlite discovered on Mountain Province (49 percent) and De Beers Canada's (51 percent) Gahcho Kué joint venture p...
Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. April 11 reported an increase in the tonnage and grade of the diamond resource at the Faraday 2 kimberlite on the company's Kennady North project in Northwest Territories. Located adjacent to the Gahcho Kué diamond mine property, which is owned by a joint venture between Mountain Province Diamonds (49 percent) and De Beers Canada (51 percent), Kennady North is a diamond exploration property that hosts three kimberlites with delineated resources...
The quest for diamonds at the Kennady North project next door to the Gahcho Kué Mine in Northwest Territories got a boost on Feb. 27 when owner Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. reported plans to begin its 2019 winter exploration program on the 67,432-hectare property. Kennady North covers a portion of the southeastern Slave Geological Province in Northwest Territories within the Kelvin-Faraday Corridor, a northeast-southwest structural feature that continues to the southwest an...
Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. Feb. 27 announced that it has begun a winter exploration program targeting new kimberlite prospects at Kennady North, a diamond property that borders the Gahcho Kué diamond mine property owned by Mountain Province (49 percent) and DeBeers Canada (51 percent). Mountain Province gained full ownership of this property with the acquisition of Kennady Diamonds Inc. in 2018. Prior to the buyout, Kennady Diamonds had identified a series of...
Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. Nov. 27 forecast that the Gahcho Kué Mine in Northwest Territories will produce between 6.6 million and 6.9 million carats of diamonds in 2019 and the company expects the diamond output from this operation to remain steady through 2021. Owned by Mountain Province (49 percent) and De Beers Canada (51 percent), the Gahcho Kué Mine began commercial production in 2017. Through the first nine months of 2018, the Gahcho Kué Mine produced 5.4 mi...
Northwest Territories may fall behind Canada's two other territories in mining activity in the near-future, but projects underway in the northern jurisdiction hold substantial promise for mid- to long-term gains, especially if many current roadblocks come down. "Optimism is warranted for the territory's mining sector and the broader economy it drives," said Wally Schumann, minister of industry, tourism and investment for the Government of Northwest Territories. But...
Mining is expected to fuel strong economic growth in Nunavut and Yukon in the coming years, according to The Conference Board of Canada's latest Territorial Outlook. "With many new mining projects on the horizon in Nunavut and Yukon, growth is expected to take off over the next five years," said Marie-Christine Bernard, director, provincial and territorial forecasting, The Conference Board of Canada. The conference board's outlook for Northwest Territories, however, is not...
Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. April 13 completed its acquisition of Kennady Diamonds Inc. in an all-share deal worth roughly C$176 million. Kennady Diamonds owns Kennady North, a rapidly advancing diamond project about seven kilometers (4.5 miles) northeast of Gahcho Kué – a mine owned by Mountain Province (49 percent) and De Beers Canada (51 percent). Since being spun out of Mountain Province in 2012, Kennady has identified a series of diamond-rich kimberlites along a co...
Margaret Lake Diamonds Inc. March 12 said it is putting together plans for potential 2018 drill programs at its Margaret Lake and Diagras diamond properties in the Northwest Territories. The company said it has identified six drill targets at Margaret Lake, a 23,199-hectare property adjacent to the north and west of Kennady Diamonds Inc.'s Kennady North property and about nine kilometers (5.5 miles) north of Gahcho Kué, a diamond mine recently brought into production under a joint venture between De Beers Canada and...
Kennady Diamonds Inc. Feb. 5 announced that crews have mobilized for a roughly 10,500-meter winter drill program at its Kennady North diamond project in Northwest Territories. Around 60 percent of this program will investigate high priority exploration targets along the Kelvin-Faraday corridor, a trend of diamond-bearing kimberlites that extend from the northern border of De Beers Canada and Mountain Province Diamond's Gahcho Kué property some 3,000 meters onto the Kennady...
Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. Jan. 29 announced a definitive agreement to acquire Kennady Diamonds Inc. under a friendly all-share deal worth roughly C$176 million. Kennady Diamonds owns Kennady North, a rapidly advancing diamond project about seven kilometers (4.5 miles) northeast of Gahcho Kué – a mine owned by Mountain Province (49 percent) and De Beers Canada (51 percent). Since being spun out of Mountain Province in 2012, Kennady has identified a series of diamond-rich...
While mining activity remained strong in the Northwest Territories in 2019, industry and government officials alike worried that the robust sector, driven largely by production at three diamond mines, has entered a prolonged downward slide. The near-term economic outlook for the territory, which covers 1.3 million square kilometers in Canada's central Arctic region, continues to be bleak as its diamond mines that have now passed peak production and replacement projects are in...
Since achieving commercial production at the Gahcho Kué Mine in 2017, Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. has resumed exploring for more diamonds across the wider property and Kennedy North, an adjacent property the company acquired full ownership of through its purchase of Kennady Diamonds Inc. in 2018. In June, Mountain Province announced the discovery of a new kimberlite roughly 200 meters east of the planned open pit mining area for the Tuzo kimberlite on the Gahcho Kué p...
The Washington Companies, a group of privately held North American mining, industrial and transportation businesses founded by industrialist and entrepreneur Dennis Washington, acquired Dominion Diamond Corp. in a deal worth US$1.2 billion. "We look forward to owning and operating Dominion for decades to come, with a focus on maintaining safe and prosperous business operations in the Northwest Territories," said Washington. When the deal closed, Patrick Evans, who previously...
Dominion Diamond Corp. Nov. 1 announced that it has closed the deal to sell all of its outstanding shares to The Washington Companies for US$14.25 per share, worth roughly US$1.2 billion. Founded by billionaire Dennis Washington, The Washington Companies is a group of privately held North American mining industrial and transportation businesses. "This is an exciting day for Dominion Diamond and The Washington Companies," said Washington President Lawrence Simkins. "We fully su...
With the opening of Gahcho Kué, Northwest Territories is reaping the rewards of past exploration spending across the vast diamond-rich expanse of northern Canada. In fact, the new diamond mine is expected to contribute some C$5.7 billion to Northwest Territories economy by 2028, the end of its currently projected life, according to a report commissioned by De Beers Group of Companies. Northwest Territories Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment Wally Schumann...
Kennady Diamonds Inc. is a Toronto-based explorer focused on Kennady North, a rapidly advancing diamond project located about seven kilometers (4.5 miles) northeast of Gahcho Kué - a mine owned by De Beers Canada and Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. Kelvin, the most advanced kimberlite on the property, hosts an indicated resource of 13.62 million carats of diamonds contained in 8.5 million metric tons of kimberlite averaging 1.6 carats per metric ton, according to a maiden...
