Lac de Gras (July 21/03) - Diavik should recruit aboriginals for its management ranks, First Nations leaders told its executives and owners Saturday as they officially opened their mine at Lac de Gras.

Bob Gannicott, President and Chief Executive Officer of Abner Diamond Corporation, checks out the $1.7 million diamond display at the opening of Diavik Diamond Mine, Lac de Gras. - Elizabeth Hargreaves/NNSL photo Florence Catholique, Lutsel K'e Dene, asked how many aboriginal workers filled supervisory positions. - Elizabeth Hargreaves/NNSL photo

Yellowknives Dene chief Peter Liske congratulated them for their efforts; 32 per cent of the mine's workers are aboriginal, "but it's not just training and employment, I want to see my people advance more."

It was a day for celebration and ceremony. Rio Tinto and Aber Diamonds spent an estimated $500,000 to charter 10 planes for 250 guests from Toronto, Kugluktuk, Cambridge Bay and Yellowknife.

Visitors got a whirlwind tour of the $1.3 billion diamond mine, a feast of roast bison and trout, drum songs and a few words from corporate executives, politicians and community leaders.

Richard Clifford, chief executive of Rio Tinto, said the mine is "one of the world's great resource projects, praised for technical excellence and its close involvement with local communities in making training, employment and business opportunities."

Diavik's owners spent $874 million with Northern companies during construction, $604 million of that with ones owned by or joint-partnered with aboriginals, Clifford said.

Deputy premier Jim Antoine said the mine is the "beginning of a new era, one that has changed the lives of many people," and praised its owners as "excellent corporate citizens."

Robert Gannicott, president of Aber Diamond Corp. outlined Diavik's brief history and said that a "stable, predictable" government is the key to resource development.

Ethel Blondin-Andrew, MP for the Western Arctic, said the mine brings "prosperity and a sustainable future to so many people in Northern communities."

During the tour, Blondin-Andrew saw an Arctic hare and two red fox on the tundra, scenes "so Northern it says something special about sustainability: it's real."

Diamonds on display

Guests were guided briskly through the mine, stopping to watch mammoth trucks haul 140-tonne loads of anonymous grey kimberlite and marvel at the dike that holds back Lac de Gras from a man-made island.

Florence Catholique from Lutsel K'e asked about aboriginals in supervisory positions. The guides said the mine has a Metis engineer and one aboriginal supervisor.

Diavik spokesperson Tom Hoefer said later that the company offers scholarships and apprenticeships to aboriginals who want to advance with the mine or its First Nations service contractors.

Then it was on to the processing plant where rock crushers knock boulders into pea gravel and less. The mine roads glittered under a clear blue sky, but it was flakes of mica winking at the visitors.

The tour stopped at the door to the recovery room, where diamonds are plucked from dust and rock with X-rays and jets of air. Guests didn't get close to the treasure until after the speeches.

They pressed around a small glass case at the edge of the auditorium, like hunters warming by a pale fire. It held a day's production, most of it gritty industrial stones but enough gem-quality rocks to run the value to $1.7 million.

The mine operates around the clock, 365 days a year, processing 1.5 million tonnes of ore. It's expected to yield 100 million carats of gems over its 20-year life, making it one of the richest deposits in the world.