De Beers Canada started production in two mines – Snap Lake in the Northwest Territories and Victor in northeastern Ontario – in July 2008 , and is in permitting phase on a third . Last year , De Beers Canada , in partnership with Mountain Province Mining Inc ., filed an 11,000-page environmental impact statement to the Canadian government regarding its intention to mine Gahcho Kué , a property in the Northwest Territories approximately 100 kilometers from its Snap Lake Mine . Pending approvals , construction on that site is expected to take two years and estimated to have a capital cost of about $ 745 million .
De Beers ’ interest in Canada began more than 50 years ago when company geologists first started looking at the possibility of finding kimberlites , the host rock for diamonds . The Victor Mine was initially discovered in 1987 ,
kicking off a long exploration phase that culminated in formal geological surveys and feasibility studies beginning in 2000 .
The open-pit Victor Mine has an expected life of 12 years and is one of 18 kimberlite pipes discovered on the property , 16 of which are diamond-bearing . De Beers Canada has an advanced exploration program on the property and hopes to mine from one or more to extend the life of the mine . The Victor Mine – which cost approximately $ 1 billion to build – produced 826,000 carats in 2010 and has an annual processing capacity of 2.7 million tonnes .
“ We ’ re looking to extend the life of that mine ,” Ormsby says . “ It ’ s a great mine but doesn ’ t have a life as long as most mines ; bringing in more resources would be a great addition to the only diamond mine in Ontario and the only diamond mine south of the 60th parallel .”
In the Northwest Territories in 2000 , De Beers bought the Snap Lake project from Winspear Resources , who discovered a kimberlite rock deposit there in 1997 . The fully underground
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