 Ekati mine aerial view, August 2010. Four open pits on four kimberlite pipes may be seen, along with the Ekati airport. | |
  Ekati Diamond Mine Location in Canada, Show map of Northwest Territories Ekati Diamond Mine Ekati Diamond Mine (Canada) Show map of Canada | |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Location | Lac de Gras |
| Territory | Northwest Territories |
| Country | Canada |
| Coordinates | 64°42′49″N110°37′10″W / 64.71361°N 110.61944°W /64.71361; -110.61944 |
| Production | |
| Products | Diamonds |
| History | |
| Discovered | 1991 |
| Opened | 1998 |
| Owner | |
| Company | Burgundy Diamond Mines |
| Website | burgundydiamonds.com |
TheEkati Diamond Mine, often simply calledEkati, is Canada's first surface and undergrounddiamond mine[1] and is owned byBurgundy Diamond Mines. It is located 310 km (190 mi) north-east ofYellowknife,[2]Northwest Territories, and about 200 km (120 mi) south of theArctic Circle, nearLac de Gras. Until 2014, Ekati was a joint venture between Dominion Diamond Mines (80%),Chuck Fipke, andStewart Blusson, the two geologists who discoveredkimberlite pipes north of Lac de Gras.[3] Fipke and Blusson each held 10% stake in the mine, until Fipke sold his share to Dominion.[4][1] In 2021, Arctic Canadian Diamond Company Ltd. acquired the Ekati Diamond Mine with associated assets and liabilities from Dominion Diamond Mines. In July 2023, Burgundy Diamond Mines purchased full control of Arctic Canadian Diamond Company.[5]
The firstvolcanic pipe found in theLac de Gras region was thePoint Lake kimberlite,[6] discovered by Chuck Fipke and Stewart Blusson who had been prospecting in the region for almost ten years, having foundkimberlite indicator minerals as early as 1985.[1] The Point Lake kimberlite was determined to be uneconomic, but its discovery precipitated one of largest staking rushes in mining history, covering most of the area between Yellowknife and theArctic coast.[7] There are 156 known kimberlite pipes within the Ekati block of claims, including the Point Lake pipe. Ekati officially began operations on October 14, 1998, and was operated byBHP. Since the opening until 2017, the mine produced around 67,800,000carats (13,560 kg; 29,890 lb) of diamonds and is still in production.
The mine was owned by Dominion Diamond Mines ULC, formerly named theHarry Winston Diamond Corporation, until the company went bankrupt due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[8][9]
As of July 2023, the mine has been owned byBurgundy Diamond Mines.[5] There are currently three underground kimberlites (Koala, Koala North, and Panda) and the rest are mined by surface mining.[10] As of 2024, the active operations include Sable and Misery underground with Point Lake ready to go into production as anopen pits later in the year.
Diamonds at the Ekati site are found in 45- to 62-million-year-old kimberlite pipes (Creaser et al., 2004) of theLac de Gras kimberlite field, most of which lie underneath shallow lakes.
Between 1998 and 2009, the mine has produced 40,000,000carats (8,000 kg; 18,000 lb) of diamonds out of sixopen pits.[1] As thehigh grade ore close to surface was depleted, development was completed to access the ore utilizingunderground methods. The mine's current annual production is estimated to be approximately 7,500,000 carats (1,500 kg; 3,310 lb) of diamonds.[11]
There are numerous options to extend the mine life at Ekati through 2028 including continuation of Misery underground at depth, evaluation alternatives for expansion atPoint Lake, transforming Sable to an underground operation following open pit completion, exploring Fox as an underground opportunity and maximizing resources in the Fox stockpile. In addition, the underwater remote mining provides additional opportunities to extract diamonds through kimberlite pipes with a trial that will start at Lynx pit in 2025.
Mine workersfly-in fly-out throughEkati Airport.
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