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Mountain Province Diamonds (TSX:MPV), which holds a 49% stake in Gahcho Kué, one of Canada’s newest diamond mine and the world’s largest of its kind in the last 13 years, has just found a massive gem at the operation.
The 67.87-carat gem quality octahedron diamond is the largest of its kind recovered to date at the mine.
The company said the 67.87-carat gem quality octahedron rock, unearthed during production ramp-up, is the largest gem quality diamond recovered to date at Gahcho Kué, which is one of the world’s 10 biggest diamond mines.
The company’s President and CEO, Patrick Evans, said production ramp-up at the remote mine, which is also the world’s highest grade new diamond operation, is progressing well despite some recent disruptions caused by extremely cold conditions during December that impacted the mine’s conveyor systems. He added that Gahcho Kué was on track to achieve commercial production on schedule during the current quarter.
Situated almost 300 kilometres east of Yellowknife, in Canada’s Northwest Territories, the mine opened up in September last year and has so far provided a $341 million (Cdn$440 million) boost to the territories’ economy. It has also contributed a further $272 million (Cdn$350 million) to the rest of Canada, according to DeBeers, which holds a 51% stake in the mine.
Mountain Province also announced that its second diamonds sale of the year will take place in Antwerp, Belgium, from February 20 to March 1.
First blast at Gahcho Kué. (Image: Mountain Province Diamonds.)
3 Comments
Altaf
All the fractures in the diamond due to the blasts??
Due to the fractures, out of 68 carats, almost 60 carats is useless.
They should start digging the ground by hand 🙂
Iceberg
Ya, that should extend mine life by 400 years.
Dani Chev
It’s pretty cool to hear about this! I worked up at that mine last March in the build process. Best time of my life!