SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
According to Mountain Province Diamonds, the Gahcho Kue diamond mine is now more than 70 per cent complete, on-time and on-budget for its anticipated production start date in the third quarter of 2016.

Aerial view of the Gahcho Kué diamond mine, currently under construction in a partnership between De Beers Canada and Mountain Province Diamonds. The latter company recently announced construction was 70 per cent complete as of Oct. 6. - photo courtesy of Mountain Province Diamonds

The project, located at Kennady Lake, approximately 280-kilometres northeast of Yellowknife and 80 km southeast of our Snap Lake Mine, is a joint venture between Mountain Province Diamonds and De Beers Canada.

Mountain Province president and CEO Patrick Evans told News/North after transporting approximately 2,500 truckloads across the Tibbitt to Contwoyto winter road last year, the company is already planning for the next ice road season.

"We'll have about 1,500 truckloads, so quite a lot less," he said. "The majority of it will be fuel and explosives together with some final pieces of mining equipment. The key thing is everything is to ensure everything is staged in Yellowknife and you're ready to start rolling in February next year."

In terms of core equipment, Evans said the company already took delivery of half of the mining fleet last year. According to the executive, the other half of the fleet has now been built and it is expect to arrive in Yellowknife by the end of this year.

Evans said has Mountain Province has also benefited from the slump in the price of oil, with the core cost of diesel fuel, excluding taxes and other elements, is now at approximately 65 cents per litre. However, the company had planned for a price for 99.6 cents per litre.

"There's been about a 30 per cent drop in the fuel price against our budget," he said.

Evans said last year his company took up 22 million litres of diesel to the site, with the same amount expected for this year during the ice road season. However, he said the savings in fuel is only about $3 to $4 million USD.

"When the mine is in production we'll be buying about 40 million litres of fuel, about twice the quantity," Evans said. "If the fuel prices are still low at that time we'll see more significant savings."

On the issues of human resources and hiring, Evans said a number of senior managers have already been appointed and put on the payroll at the project, as well as the hiring of mining fleet operators.

"There is close to 600 people on site, with the majority of them contractors," he said. "That will drop to 400 once production starts."

An Oct. 6 news release also noted the safety performance at Gahcho Kue, with no lost-time injuries over the past 18 months. Detailed engineering and procurement are both complete and the process plant and truck maintenance buildings are on track to be enclosed by the end of October.

The Gahcho Kué diamond mine is expected to produce an average of 4.5 million carats a year, with a projected mine life of 12 years.

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