Ekati Diamond Mine


The Ekati Diamond Mine is Canada's first surface and underground diamond mine. It is located north-east of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, and about south of the Arctic Circle, near Lac de Gras. Until 2014 Ekati was a joint venture between Dominion Diamond Mines, and the two geologists who discovered kimberlite pipes north of Lac de Gras, Chuck Fipke and Stewart Blusson each holding a 10% stake in the mine, until Fipke sold his share to Dominion.

History

The first volcanic pipe found in the Lac de Gras region was the Point Lake kimberlite, discovered by Chuck Fipke and Stewart Blusson who had been prospecting in the region for almost ten years, having found kimberlite indicator minerals as early as 1985. The Point Lake kimberlite was determined to be uneconomic, but its discovery precipitated one of largest staking rushes in mining history, covering most of the area between Yellowknife and the Arctic coast. There are 156 known kimberlite pipes within the Ekati block of claims, including the Point Lake pipe. Ekati officially began operations on October 14, 1998, and was operated by BHP Billiton Canada Inc., a part of the BHP Billiton Group, the world's largest diversified resources company.
The next kimberlites to be developed at Ekati will be mined using open pit methods and are named Jay and Sable, discovered in 1993 and 1995, respectively. Underground mining of the Misery kimberlite will commence in 2020, after open pit operations have been completed. Ekati Diamond mine, which is currently operated by Dominion Diamond is scheduled to remain operational until 2033.
On November 13, 2012, CBC reported that the Harry Winston Diamond Corporation, 40% owners of Diavik Diamond Mine, would buy Ekati for US$500 million.

Geology

Diamonds at the Ekati site are found in 45- to 62-million-year-old kimberlite pipes of the Lac de Gras kimberlite field, most of which lie underneath shallow lakes.

Mining and marketing

Between 1998 and 2009, the mine has produced 40 million carats of diamonds out of six open pits. As the high grade ore close to surface was depleted, development was completed to access the ore utilizing underground methods. Currently, there is one underground operation with open-cut mining occurring in Fox Pit. The mine's current annual production is estimated to be approximately 7.5 million carats of diamonds.
Ekati supplies rough diamonds to the global market through its sorting and selling operations in Canada, Belgium, and India.

Transportation

Mine workers fly-in fly-out through Ekati Airport.

Footnotes