History
The area was surveyed in 1992, and construction began in 2001, with production commencing in January 2003. In 2006, the ice road from Yellowknife to the Diavik mine and neighbouring mines froze late and thawed early.[9] The Diavik mine could not truck in all the supplies needed for the rest of 2006 before the road closed and arrangements had to be made to bring the remainder of the supplies in by air[10]. Subsequent annual ice road resupply has been completed as planned.
On July 5, 2007, a consortium of seven mining companies, including Rio Tinto, announced they are sponsoring environmental impact studies to construct a deep-water port in Bathurst Inlet.[11][12] Their plans include building a 211 km road connecting the port to their mines. The port would serve vessels of up to 25,000 tonnes.
In March 2010, underground mining began at the mine. The transition from open pit to underground mining was completed in September 2012.[13]
In September 2012, Diavik completed the construction of the Northwest Territories' first large-scale wind farm. The four-turbine, 9.2-megawatt facility provides 11 per cent (2015) of the Diavik mine's annual power needs and operates at 98% availability. Diesel fuel offset is about 5 e6l per year. Diavik operates the world's largest wind-diesel hybrid power facility at its remote off-grid mine. The wind farm, operational down to -40 C, sets a new benchmark in cold-climate renewable energy.[14][15]
In 2015, $US350 million was announced to fund the exploitation of a fourth kimberlite pipe ore body, known as A21. Construction of the A21 rockfill dike (like the other three ore bodies, the A21 kimberlite pipe is under the shallow waters of Lac de Gras) is expected to be complete in 2018, with the first diamonds expected in the fall of that year. To build the dike, Diavik will use the same technologies used to build the A154 and A418 dikes.[16]
In December 2015, Rio Tinto announced the discovery of the 187.7-carat Diavik Foxfire diamond, one of Canada's largest rough gem quality diamonds ever produced.[17] The Diavik Foxfire was bestowed an indigenous name, Noi?eh Kwe, which means caribou crossing stone in the Tlicho First Nation language.[18]
In October 2018, a yellow diamond of 552 carats was found at the mine. This is the largest diamond ever found in North America.[19]
On January 23, 2024, a Northwestern Air charter flight carrying workers to the mine crashed shortly after takeoff from Fort Smith Airport, killing six people and injuring one.[20][21]
On February 27, 2026, Rio Tino announced the signing of a closure agreement with the Tłı̨chǫ government.[22]
On March 26, 2026, Rio Tinto celebrated its final day of production.[23] Closure procedures are set to continue winding down until 2029.
