De Beers Advances Goal of Canadian Diamond Production

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). De Beers Canada Mining Incorporated, a subsidiary of South Africa diamond mining leader De Beers, is proceeding with permitting for what will be the third major commercial diamond mining operation located in the remote Northwest Territories in Canada's diamond region. The Snap Lake diamond mine, located 220 kilometers northeast of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories, will be the first all underground mining operation in the region. Permitting and licensing should be complete by early 2003, which will enable construction to begin by the middle of 2003. Initial production would start in late 2005.

The estimated $269 million project is expected to process 3,000 tons/day of kimberlite ore. AMEC (Vancouver, BC) is providing engineering assistance on the project.

Currently there are two other Northwest Territory diamond projects in more advanced stages of development. The first Canadian diamond project, the Ekati diamond mine has been in operation since 1997, while . Tthe Diavik diamond project is under construction and is expected to go into operation next year. That would make Snap Lake the third Canadian diamond mine upon its completion in 2005. "Globally we have reported on thirteen diamond mining projects in various stages of development representing just under $4 billion in potential capital expenditures," according to Joseph Govreau, Manager of Metals and Minerals for Industrialinfo.com. "Over half of the global development for diamond projects is being planned for Canada at six different diamond mining projects."

De Beers also has several other diamond exploration properties in Canada, including the Victor diamond mine, which is in the exploration stage and is located in Ontario. De Beers is the largest diamond producing company in the world.