The future of Ekati Diamond Mine is well and truly up in the air today as the company that owns the mine has requested a halt on trading of its shares.
Burgundy Diamond Mines Limited , throwing the future of the mine in doubt.
The halt, , is expected to remain in effect until trading resumes on Friday, or until they make an operational update, which it also referred to as SA国际影视传媒渢he announcement.SA国际影视传媒�
The news comes a few months after the territorial government injected millions of dollars as temporary relief measures to support its diamond mining sector. It specifically lowered the 2025 property tax rate for mines, giving a little more than $11 million in tax relief to the Diavik, Ekati and Gahcho Kue diamond mines.
Finance Minister Caroline Wawzonek has previously stated that 2024 saw hefty losses among all three mines, totalling around $300 million dollars. Ekati lost about in particular.
Diamond mines employ more than 1,000 Northerners and contribute about a fifth to the NWTSA国际影视传媒檚 gross domestic product, according to the GNWT.
Ekati has been in operation since 1998 and was first operated by BHP, an Australian mining firm. Since it opened, it's passed through many different hands. Burgundy is also based in Australia and bought Ekati in 2023 from Arctic Canadian Diamond Company in 2023 for $186 million. Arctic Canadian acquired the mine from Dominion Diamonds after it filed for insolvency protection in April 2020. Prior to that, the Washington Companies, a private entity, purchased Ekati for (US)$1.2 billion in November 2017.
According to its 2024 economic report, 1,242 people were employed at the mine: 700 direct employees and 542 contractors. Sixty per cent of those employees were Northern Indigenous.
The mine life was currently projected to expire as of 2028, however, ongoing exploration had the possibility to extend that by as much as 25 years.
In 2024, former Burgundy Diamond Mines CEO Kim Truter told SA国际影视传媒 that there was the possibility of at least another quarter-century of mine life and beyond.
Truter said at the time that it all hinged on the execution of five additional projects, including extended work at EkatiSA国际影视传媒檚 Misery, Sable and Fox sites, and the continued expansion of Point Lake, its newest open pit. Burgundy was also seeking permission to turn Sable into an underground operation.
SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 been going for 25 years, and thereSA国际影视传媒檚 probably still another 25 years to go,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淭hatSA国际影视传媒檚 our long-term goal.SA国际影视传媒�
Truter retired in May this year and was replaced by Jeremy King.
SA国际影视传媒 will update this story when more news breaks.
