De Beers Restarts Gahcho Kue Diamond Project

A new diamond mine in Canada's North is again in front of regulators after a recovery in international markets for the sparkly objects of desequipment used in production of aggregateire. Diamond miner De Beers recently filed a mammoth environmental assessment for its long-awaited $600-million Gahcho Kue project and says it could begin production from the mine in 2014. "It's been a project that's been in the works for quite some time," said De Beers spokeswoman Cathie Bolstad.

De Beers, the majority partner in the project with Canada's Mountain Province Diamonds, originally brought Gahcho Kue before the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board six years ago. But after the board ruled the project, located about 280 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife, would be the first diamond mine to be subject to a full environmental impact review, the company appealed the decision in court. De Beers lost the case in 2007, and shortly after found itself facing a drop in diamond demand that saw U.S. prices fall between 20 and 30 per cent. With production cuts at De Beers' Snap Lake mine and other mines cutting back production, Gahcho Kue was pushed to the back burner. But now, with a 19-volume environmental impact assessment freshly delivered to the regulator, the project is back.