WorldWide Drilling Resource

8 JANUARY 2018 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® The Extraordinary World of Mining: Canada’s Diavik Diamond Mine Part 2 Compiled by Editorial Staff of WorldWide Drilling Resource ® As part of an Environmental Agreement with local Aboriginal groups, federal, and territorial governments, the Diavik Diamond Mine provides transparency and oversight to local communities. The mine has adaptive management and customized prevention programs designed to protect the surrounding environment. Included in the environmental manage- ment system is, protection for caribou and other wildlife, including water and fish habitats. Hiring practices give first consideration to Aboriginal people, with special emphasis on residents from local communities. Diavik actively involves Northern people through cooperative agreements with Aboriginal groups, which require both parties to work together to address training, employment, and business opportunities. The Diavik Diamond Mine site functions like a self-contained city, complete with its own water and sewage treatment plant. Production workers fly in for two weeks at a time and live in hotel-like accommodations with private bedrooms, TV, Internet access, free food (but no alcohol), a 24-7 medic station, and a fully equipped fitness facility with a gymnasium for floor hockey and basketball, running track, squash court, and an indoor driving range and putting green. The mine plan is built on four diamond-bearing kimberlite pipes. The three kimberlite pipes currently being mined, A154 South, A154 North, and A418, are very high grade. The fourth pipe, A21, is currently in development with the first kimberlite production anticipated by the end of 2018. As of December 31, 2014, the Diavik Mine had 39.6 million carats of proven reserves and 13.7 million carats of probable reserves. One of the largest diamonds ever discovered in Canada was found at the Diavik Diamond Mine in June 2015, according to Rio Tinto. The company named the two-billion-year-old rock the Diavik Foxfire, and also gave it an indigenous Tlicho name, Noiʔeh Kwe, as a symbolic gesture of strong ties to the land and its history. Rio Tinto said the rough stone will yield at least one very large, polished diamond. The mine’s current plan is expected to take production to 2023. Diavik diamonds are highly regarded in the international commercial marketplace. Most are one carat or larger, white in color, and have good clarity. These exceptional grades make Diavik one of the most valuable diamond mines in the world. Diavik drilling operations in the underground mine. The company is using two mining methods: sublevel retreat and blasthole stoping.