Diamond production at Rio Tinto’s Diavik mine in Canada fell by 28% year-on-year in the second quarter, following a temporary suspension of operations due to a bereavement period for workers involved in a plane crash.
The mine produced 702,000 carats during the three months ending June 30, according to a statement from Rio Tinto on Tuesday.
This decline was partly due to a tragic accident in January, where a small plane carrying workers to the Diavik mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories crashed, resulting in several fatalities. Production was paused to allow employees to grieve.
The second-quarter output also represented a 5% decrease compared to the 740,000 carats recovered in the first quarter, which was similarly affected by the operational halt.
Additionally, the nearing end-of-life of a portion of the open pit contributed to the reduced production. For the first half of the year, production dropped 25% year-on-year to 1.4 million carats, from processing 705,000 tonnes of ore, down from 873,000 tonnes in the first half of 2023.
In a related development, Rio Tinto recently announced the temporary closure of one of Diavik’s primary pits due to unstable ground caused by subsidence, which can lead to land caving. The duration of this closure and its impact on the rest of the year’s production remain uncertain.
Diavik is Rio Tinto’s sole diamond operation, following the closure of its Argyle mine in Australia in 2020 and the sale of its stake in the Fort à la Corne diamond exploration project to joint-venture partner Star Diamond last year.
Originally set to conclude in 2025, Rio Tinto has invested $40 million to extend Diavik’s life into 2026, adding over 2 million carats of rough production.
