TORONTO, Dec 4 (Reuters) - De Beers Canada said on Friday
that operations have been suspended at its unprofitable Snap
Lake diamond mine in the Northwest Territories, due to poor
market conditions, and it will evaluate the mine's potential
over the next year.
De Beers, which is 85 percent owned by Anglo American Plc
AAL.L and 15 percent owned by the government of Botswana, said
that work to put the underground mine on care and maintenance
has begun and is expected to last from one to nine months.
The mine, 220 kilometers (137 miles) northeast of the
territorial capital of Yellowknife, has not made any money since
it began production in 2008 and was planned to operate until
2028.
De Beers said 434 employees have been terminated and that it
will employ 120 employees for the suspension work, while ongoing
care and maintenance operations will require about 70 staff.
The company has transferred 41 employees to its Gahcho Kue
mine, now being built in the Northwest Territories with
Mountain Province Diamonds Inc MPV.TO , a 49-percent partner in
the project.
Gahcho Kue is expected to start production in late 2016 and
operate for 11 years.