Diamond Mine in Canada’s North Halted With Hundreds Laid Off

(Bloomberg) – Burgundy Diamond Mines Ltd., after stopping some of the ekati operations in Northern Canada, laid off “hundreds of” workers and added another blow to the country’s struggling diamond mining industry.

Jeremy King, Chairman of the Executive Board, said that the company temporarily suspended the Point Lake open pit mine after the records of low global diamond prices have made the operation non -economic.

“Diamonds evaluated in the market, Point Lake is not economical in this market is not economical and we will actually lose money on a daily basis,” he said. He added that the nearby underground mine is not affected by the suspension.

Burgundy’s Ekati operations are one of the three diamonds in the northwestern regions of Canada, and all of which reported financial losses last year. The diamond industry is struggling with one of the worst collapse of the decades, collapsing Chinese demand, and the uncertainties around the United States and the competition from alternatives grown in the laboratory.

The closing is expected to have a significant fluctuation effect on nearby domestic communities based on diamond mining for business and income for a long time. Local leaders said that the scale of business cuts caught them unprepared.

“Shocking. Sadly,” said Marc Whitford, President of the Northern Slave Métis Alliance. “We are talking about some of this line suddenly carved and left, primarily with all these works from domestic communities.”

According to an economic study published in April, the diamond industry produced more than $ 104 million ($ 75.6 million) for three domestic development companies and supported 355 jobs for local local workers.

King did not explain the number of dismissals, but he said he was working towards a point where the company could remember the workers when diamond prices healed and re -activate Point Lake.

Burgundy, an Australian -based Burgundy, bought Ekati Mine, which was about 210 kilometers (131 miles) of the Arctic circle, two years ago.

Canada Broadcasting Corp. Previously, he reportedly reported about layoffs and stopping in the open pit mine.

(Updates with additional information about Metis Group’s comments and local economic impact that started in the fifth paragraph.)

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