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RAPAPORT... Dominion Diamond Corporation completed a prefeasibility study on its Jay kimberlite pipe deposit, which is located within the buffer-zone joint-venture property of the Ekati diamond mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories. The study evaluated Jay as a standalone open-pit operation that would supply ore to an existing processing plant at its full capacity of approximately 4.3 million dry metric tonnes per year for approximately 11 years beyond the current projected closure of Ekati in 2020. Jay would require construction of a water-retention dike encircling the pipe, allowing the isolated area to be dewatered ahead of the start of pre-stripping and mining operations, the report noted. Ultimately, the study determined that Jay would produce 84.6 million carats, require initial development capital of $657 million, pre-stripping capital of $33 million and sustaining capital of $148 million. The average diamond price was calculated at $86 per carat.
Brendan Bell, the acting CEO of Dominion Diamond, said, “Completing this prefeasibility study is an important milestone for Jay, a project that we hope will be a significant growth opportunity for the company and a long term pillar of the Northwest Territories economy.” Dominion Diamond’s timetable for developing Jay assumes permitting in 2016, with construction beginning in the second half. Dewatering of the area isolated by the dike and pre-stripping would occur in 2019, and mining of the Jay pipe and processing of kimberlite would begin in 2020. In 2020, the project would supply approximately half the ore to the processing plant as Jay mining activities ramp up and the existing ore sources are exhausted, the company noted.
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