Opening day for Gahcho Kue
The world's largest new diamond mine up and running in the NWT
Jessica Davey-Quantick
Northern News Services
Friday, September 23, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
After 20 years of preparation, Gahcho Kue is officially open.
Geologist Tom Hamilton explains the layout of the first pit to be mined at Gahcho Kue. Mining is done in steps called benches, that stair-case into the earth. - Jessica Davey-Quantick/NNSL photo
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Located 280 kilometers northeast of Yellowknife, the first diamonds were recovered on June 30, and made their way to Yellowknife for valuation this month.
"Mine ramp-ups are tricky things, and I've done a few of them in my lifetime. This has probably been one of the best ramp-ups we've had," said De Beers CEO Kim Truter on the grand opening tour Sept. 20.
The mine started production officially on Aug. 1, and Truter says they're already "way ahead" of budget.
He says it's been a long time coming, but he hopes it will be worth the wait.
"It's lived through two economic depressions, multiple politicians, so it's wonderful to be here for 20 years. And I think it means a lot to the local people. I can actually sense the emotion today in people - this seems to be a real big deal for the employees and local communities and politicians. It's fantastic," he said.
Lustsel K'e Dene First Nation, Yellowknives Dene First Nation, Tlicho Government, Deninu Kue' First Nation, North Slave Metis Alliance and the NWT Metis Nation have signed confidential impact benefit agreements with Gahcho Kue Mine, with representatives on hand at the opening for a drum dance and a feeding of the fire ceremony.
"About 45 per cent of our workforce are indigenous employees. So that's majority from the Northwest Territories, about 45 per cent," said Truter. "I think it's important that when we're working in local communities, we respect the land. And this in some ways is quite symbolic of showing that, of how much we do respect the land that we're actually working on."
To that end, Gahcho Kue has an agreement with the Government of the Northwest Territories with commitments on local hiring, training, and preferential procurement, including 10 per cent of diamonds by value to be processed in the NWT.
"I see a lot more Northerners from the communities, which is pretty neat," said Danny Acton, a Yellowknifer who works as a blaster at the mine. He's Dene, and says the commitment from De Beers to the aboriginal communities isn't just words on paper.
"I believe it's true. They're always giving to the communities, there are a lot of events that go on," he said.
Gahcho Kue is expected to contribute about $5.7 billion to the NWT economy over its lifetime, producing about 53 million carats of diamonds, or about 4.5 million annually. De Beers stated that between 2014 and August 2016, they had spent $405 million with NWT companies, 45 per cent of their total spent at Gahcho Kue. The mine employs a production workforce of 530, a reduction from the jobs Gahcho Kue supported in 2015, before production began. In 2015, Gahcho Kue supported 2,000 jobs, equivalent to about 10 per cent of the NWT extraction industry employment. But Truter says the on-site workforce is actually higher.
"We've got roughly 800 people in our site," he said, estimating that around 200 of those came from Snap Lake.
Most of those are fly-in, fly out workers who come up for two weeks at a time. Last week, the union that represents about 60 of those workers, including camp cooks, sous chefs and janitors, threatened a strike over wages. But Truter, who says the issue has to do with one of De Beers contractors, says the dispute has caused "no concerns whatsoever."
