Rio Tinto has made $40 million investment in the first phase of underground mining below the existing A21 open pit at its Diavik Diamond Mine which started commercial production in 2018 in the Northwest Territories of Canada. The Diavik mine, Canada’s largest mine produces on the order of 6.5 million carats (+/-) of rough diamonds per year and has unearthed more than 100 million carats since its opening.
Rough & Polished reports, based on a local TV interview with CEO Sergei Ivanov, that the company is optimistic about restoration of the Mir diamond mine, and is in the final stage of a feasibility study which will determine the course of action, to be decided by a review committee in H1 of 2022.