The Jericho Diamond Mine is a dormant

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...

mine located in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...

territory. Jericho is Nunavut’s first and only diamond mine. It is located northeast of

Yellowknife Yellowknife is the capital, largest community, and the only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the outlet of t ...

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

and is accessible by air all year and by

winter road A winter road is a seasonal road only usable during the winter, i.e. it has to be re-built every year. This road typically runs over land and over frozen lakes, rivers, swamps, and sea ice. Segments of a winter road that cross an expanse of flo ...

from Yellowknife. The project was mined from 2006 to 2008, and produced of diamonds from of

kimberlite Kimberlite is an igneous rock and a rare variant of peridotite. It is most commonly known as the main host matrix for diamonds. It is named after the town of Kimberley, Northern Cape, Kimberley in South Africa, where the discovery of an 83.5-Car ...

mined from the open pit operation. Over $200 million was invested in the development of the Jericho operations including the construction of a per day diamond recovery plant, maintenance facility, fuel farm, and offices and accommodation for 225 personnel. On July 19, 2010 Shear Diamonds (née Shear Minerals Ltd) (), a diamond exploration company focused on the Nunavut region, announced its purchase of the Jericho Diamond Mine. In late 2010, Shear announced that it would take about a year to devise a plan to reopen the mine. Shear began processing the existing recovery reject pile in early 2012, selling the recovered stones to Belgian diamond firm Taché, which provided a revolving line of credit. However, operations were suspended in September, as Shear, citing "limited funds and significant operations", has sought to minimize expenditures. Taché has given notice of default on certain covenants of their investment agreement, but is working with Shear to find funding or a purchaser.

Operations

The mine was developed, opened and operated by Tahera Diamond Corporation. The company was provided with CAN $35 million loan by Tiffany & Co. to assist in construction of the site, as part of a marketing alliance. The mine produced diamonds from 2006 to February 2008, and was Tahera's only mining operation. The company reported financial losses in 2007 due to operational difficulties, the high value of the Canadian dollar, high oil prices, and the short operating season of the Tibbitt to Contwoyto

ice road An ice road or ice bridge is a human-made structure that runs on a frozen water surface (a river, a lake or a sea water expanse).Masterson, D. and Løset, S., 2011, ISO 19906: Bearing capacity of ice and ice roads, Proceedings of the 21st Int ...

in 2006. Tahera filed for protection from creditors in January 2008, and the mine stopped recovering diamonds once existing ore stockpiles ran out, one month later. There is no registered airport at the site, so all heavy equipment had to be brought in by the Tibbitt-to-Contwoyto winter road. Due to the remoteness of the site, the mine was part of the impetus for a proposal to build a

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

near the community of

Bathurst Inlet Bathurst Inlet, officially Kiluhiqtuq, is a deep inlet located along the northern coast of the Canadian mainland, at the east end of Coronation Gulf, into which the Burnside and Western rivers empty. The name, or its native equivalent ''Kingo ...

with a road to both the Diavik Diamond Mine and the Ekati Diamond Mine.

Production

The mine was estimated to be able to produce a year with a value of CAN $25 million. In the first half of 2006 the mine had processed for .

Notes and references

External links

Shear Diamonds

Tahera Diamond Corporation - Jericho exploration

Tahera Diamond Corporation - Jericho Diamond Mine

CBC report on construction of the mine

* ttp://www.tachediamonds.com/ Tache Alliance - diamond and jewellery company {{Subdivisions of Nunavut Diamond mines in Canada Mines in Nunavut Buildings and structures in Nunavut Kitikmeot Region 2008 establishments in Nunavut

Operations

Production

See also

Notes and references

External links