Diavik Diamond Mines Inc.

The island of diamonds

The Diavik Diamond Mine is located on a 20 square kilometre island, informally known as East Island, in Lac de Gras, approximately 300 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife, capital of Canada's Northwest Territories. It consists of three separate ore bodies and an on-site processing plant. This comprises a small run-of-mine building, the main dense media separation (DMS) plant, and a recovery building where diamonds are removed from the host kimberlite rock. The processing plant is one of the largest buildings in the Northwest Territories at 6,000 square metres and eleven storeys high.

The mine produces approximately 8 million carats of diamonds annually and has an estimated mine life of between 16 and 22 years.

Of the 725 or so workers at Diavik approximately 40 per cent are local Aboriginal people. Approximately 70 per cent of all the mines purchases are made within the Northern Territories with around half the business going to Aboriginal companies and their joint ventures.

The Diavik Diamond Mine prides itself on its strong sense of corporate social responsibility and active involvement with local communities and peoples.