Production at the Diavik Mine in the Northwest Territories will be shutdown for two six-week periods, says Rio Tinto, the mine’s owner.
Scheduled from July 14 to Aug. 24 and Dec. 1 to Jan. 11, 2010, the shutdowns are in addition to a deferral of underground mining, which will see the mine placed on a care and maintenance schedule by the third quarter of 2009. The mine will also transition to a smaller workforce quicker than planned, primarily through natural attrition.
“Our announcements today will preserve the quality of our assets, and position us for the future,” said Diavik president and chief operating officer (COO) Kim Truter. “In particular, we wish to retain our core workforce and minimize any potential job losses during these actions. We remain very optimistic about the medium to long-term prospects of the diamond industry.”
