The Diavik Diamond Mine is a diamond mine in the North Slave Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada, about 300 kilometres (186 miles) north of Yellowknife. It has become an important part of the regional economy, employing 700, grossing C$100 million in sales, and producing 8 million carats (1600 kg) of diamonds annually. The area was surveyed in 1992 and construction began in 2001, with production commencing in January 2003. It is connected by an ice road and Diavik Airport with a 5,235-foot (1,596 m) gravel runway regularly accommodating Boeing 737 jet aircraft.
The mine is owned by a joint venture between the Harry Winston Diamond Corporation and Diavik Diamond Mines Inc., a subsidiary of Rio Tinto Group. The lifespan of the mine is expected to be 16 to 22 years.
The mine consists of three kimberlite pipes associated with the Lac de Gras kimberlite field and is located on an island 20 square kilometres (8 sq mi) in Lac de Gras and is informally called East Island. It is about 220 kilometres (137 mi) south of the Arctic Circle.
In 2006 the ice road from Yellowknife to the Diavik mine, and neighboring mines, froze late and thawed early. The Diavik mine was unable to 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.
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. Their plans include building a 211 km (131 mi) 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 is expected to be completed by 2012.
10 komentar:
jeesee. its huge
An environmental atrocity, but hey 700 ppl have jobs for between 16 to 22 years.
when it hits rock bottom lava will flow freely into the world.
Umm, no, when it hits "rock bottom" I expect the rock will just sit there. The lava is a lot deeper now than when the deposit formed.
cool! loved it :)
omg that is so cool. loved the pics! where is this anyways and how deep is it. just wondering. thanks for shareing this information with the world outside of your brain. hopefully this will apply yo me in life later.
how is this any "better" for our world than blood diamonds? Our land is raped and ravaged, it's just done in our country where people are brutalized and taken advantage of while doing their jobs. The earth is still raped, some big guns have some big money and living a way of life none of us can imagine. If they make that much money off our resources they should pay 770 people to put the earth back together when their done with it. That's more job creation. It should be a part of the cost of doing the diamond business.
sorry should have proofread that .... "it's being done in our country instead of a country where people are brutalized and taken advantage of while doing their jobs - that's the only good thing."
its scarey
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