Mining Explorers 2015: Dominion Diamond Corp.

 

Last updated 11/1/2015 at Noon



DDC.TO: TSX

Chairman: Robert Gannicott

Chief Executive Officer: Brendan Bell

Chief Operating Officer: Chantal Lavoie

Dominion Diamond Corp. mines rough diamonds at the Ekati and Diavik mines, both located in Northwest Territories about 300 kilometers (190 miles) north of Yellowknife.

The company operates the Ekati Diamond Mine through an 88.9 percent ownership of the project's Core zone as well as a 65.3 percent ownership in the Buffer zone.

The 2015 exploration at Ekati focused on the Jay and Sable kimberlite pipes.

Jay, located in the Buffer Zone area of Ekati, is considered the mine's most significant undeveloped deposit due to its size and grade.

In January, Dominion announced a pre-feasibility study for Jay that includes 45.6 million metric tons of ore averaging 1.9 carats per metric ton for 84.6 million metric tons of diamonds in reserves.


This would feed the current processing plant at its full capacity of 4.3 metric tons per year for roughly 11 years.

For 2015, roughly US$27 million of exploration is planned for the Jay kimberlite.

Another US$6 million of exploration is budgeted for Sable, a pipe with 15.4 million metric tons of indicate resources averaging 0.9 carats per metric tons.

In September, Dominion Diamond Corp. released the results of a preliminary economic assessment for Sable that envisions recovering 9 million carats of diamonds from 12.1 million tons of kimberlite over a mine life of 10 years.

This production, along with Jay, would supply ore to the existing Ekati process plant at its full capacity until 2033.


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The company estimates that construction at Jay could start in the first half of 2016 and mining could begin in 2019.

Dominion also owns a 40 percent stake in the Diavik Mine. In 2014, Rio Tinto plc, which holds a 60 percent interest in the mine, approved development of Diavik's A-21 pipe. A-21 has 3.7 million metric tons of proven reserves averaging 2.7 carat per metric ton for 10 million carats of diamonds.

Dominion's Lac de Gras property, located roughly 10 kilometers (six miles) south of Ekati and fewer than 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of Diavik, is an exploration project that covers kimberlite trends from both mines. The Lac de Gras property covers 32,780 hectares and is contiguous with a 91,459-hectare property held by North Arrow Minerals Inc. Under the terms of an agreement between Dominion Diamond and North Arrow, the two adjacent parcels are to be joined to form a joint venture.


Cash and cash equivalents: US$344.2 million (July 31, 2015)

Working capital: US$695 million (July 31, 2015)

Market capitalization: US$915 million (Sept. 18, 2015)

P.O. Box 4569, Station A Toronto, Ontario M5W 4T9

Tel: 416-362-2237 • Fax: 416-362-2230

http://www.ddcorp.ca

 

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