Fire Halts Operations at Stornoway Mine

RAPAPORT… Stornoway Diamond Corporation has suspended operations at
the Renard mine in Canada due to a local forest fire.

The blaze had reached within 100 meters of the mine’s access
road as of 6:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) Monday, Stornoway said. It was also
3.6 kilometers south of the Clarence and Abel Swallow Airport, which
serves the project site, though it was still 12.6 kilometers south of the
mine itself.

“While mine facilities are in no immediate danger, the
location of the fire means that access to the site is affected,” the company
explained. “For precautionary reasons, non-essential staff are being evacuated
and road deliveries suspended until normal safe working conditions can be reestablished.”

Northerly winds are causing the fire to spread. There is likely
to be rain and a change in wind direction in the next 24 to 48 hours, according
to forecasts, Stornoway said Monday.

Stornoway owns 100% of the Renard mine, where production began in July 2016.

Image: Stornoway Diamond Corporation/Facebook