The Northwest Territories produced 13.3 million carats of diamonds in 2024, worth approximately $1.5 billion.
That was down from 14.1 million carats with a value of $1.8 billion in 2023.
The gem-producers were under pressure as diamond prices fell about 25 per cent in 2024 compared to 2023.
In the NWT, where mining is combined with a small oil and gas industry in Statistics Canada's GDP calculations, those industries represent 17.85 per cent of GDP, down from 22.1 per cent a year earlier.
In Nunavut, the volume and value of gold extracted was suppressed by Statistics Canada in 2024, as was iron ore.
Mining and quarrying accounted for a whopping 45.9 per cent of Nunavut's gross domestic product in 2024, up from 43.1 per cent in 2023.
Here are some updates on the operating mining companies in each territory.
Agnico Eagle SA国际影视传媒� After a strong 2024 with 884,000 oz. of gold from its Kivalliq operations, Agnico Eagle yielded 238,638 oz. from the Meliadine and Amaruq mines in the first quarter of 2025. The company entered the year with a forecast of 495,000 oz. for Meadowbank, which processes Amaruq ore, and 385,000 oz. for Meliadine.
Agnico Eagle's output was buoyed by extremely strong gold prices, hovering around $3,300 per ounce in early June.
Record throughput of 6,200 tonnes per day was achieved at Meliadine during the first quarter.
Agnice Eagle has an ambitious 110,000 metres of drilling planned for its Kitikmeot-based Hope Bay project in 2025 and 29,450 metres was logged in the first quarter alone.
B2Gold SA国际影视传媒� This company is on the cusp of becoming Nunavut's newest metal producer through its Goose gold mine, 400 km south of Cambridge Bay. The first gold pour at the $1.5-billion mine, 400 km southwest of Cambridge Bay, was expected during the second quarter of 2025. However, in late March, B2Gold downgraded its confidence in its resource reserve (3.56 million oz. indicated and 2.44 million oz. inferred), but reported higher gold grades over the projected nine-year mine life. The company also budgeted $32 million for exploration at its Back River project this year in hopes of building on its gold reserves and is launching a study to possibly move to 6,000 tonnes of ore processing per day at Goose instead of the currently expected 4,000 tonnes.
Baffinland Iron Mines SA国际影视传媒� Baffinland is planning for construction of its proposed railway running between its Mary River iron mine, 160 km south of Pond Inlet, and Steensby Inlet, which is 149 km away from the mine site. As of press deadline, the company needed financing to make the project a reality. Last October, Baffinland announced that 10 per cent of its workforce would be laid off and shipping would be reduced to 4.2 million tonnes of high-grade iron ore per year instead of it six million tonne limit.
Burgundy Diamonds SA国际影视传媒� Ekati is moving toward full production at its Point Lake open-pit deposit at Ekati, which will be its 10th mining operation at the site. Point Lake hosts an indicated 24 million carats, including yellow diamonds. It will use Misery camp infrastructure, which is 3 km away.
SA国际影视传媒淭his co-location of Point Lake and Misery unlocks improved operational efficiencies, increases effective shift time, and enables a step change downward in mining costs,SA国际影视传媒� said Kim Truter, CEO of Burgundy Diamond Mines.
Sable open-pit and Misery underground are still expected to produce the bulk of the company's diamonds at Ekati this year.
Across its global operations, Burgundy Diamonds sold 1.2 million carats in the first quarter, an 11 per cent reduction from the same quarter in 2024. Total proceeds realized were US$73 million.
Mountain Province Diamonds/De Beers Canada SA国际影视传媒� At the Gahcho Kue mine, Mountain Province, 49 per cent owner of the mine, reported a loss of $22.4 million from mine operations during the first quarter of 2025. That came despite the sale of 426,000 carats at a value of $44 million.
"The diamond market remained depressed in Q1 2025, and this was a real challenge from a cash-flow perspective," said Mountain Province president and CEO Mark Wall.
De Beers does not publicly report its financial results.
Rio Tinto SA国际影视传媒� Although waning, Diavik produced 942,000 carats in the first quarter of 2025, a 27 per cent improvement over the initial quarter of 2024 and 22 per cent better than the fourth quarter of 2024.
Diavik, which opened in 2003, is set for closure in early 2026, at which point full-scale remediation will be underway at the site.
Vital Metals SA国际影视传媒� Some positive news emerged in January when Australian-based Vital Metals reported a 56 per cent tonnage increase in the measured and indicated category at the Tardiff zone of the Nechalacho rare earths mine. Tardiff's mineral resource estimate stands at 192.7-million tonnes at 1.3 per cent total rare earth oxide. The company announced that it was engaging in a scoping study to determine how it would move forward with production.
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