When Diamonds Are Not Forever: NWT’s Diamond Industry Begins to Crack Under
More than three decades after diamonds transformed Canada’s Northwest Territories (NWT) into a global mining powerhouse, the industry that once defined the region’s modern economy is facing a painful reckoning.
While governments and investors have spent the past several years focused on critical minerals and battery metals, the NWT’s diamond mines are grappling with falling prices, lab-grown competition, tariff disruptions and mounting financial strain.
With one major mine set to close within weeks and others under pressure, leaders across the North are asking a seemingly once unthinkable question: what comes after diamonds?
From staking rush to global player
The modern diamond era in the NWT began in November 1991, when geologists Chuck Fipke and Stewart Blusson discovered 81 small diamonds at Lac de Gras. The find triggered the largest diamond staking rush in North American history and led to the development of the EKATI Diamond Mine, Canada’s first.
By 2004, more than 28 million hectares across the NWT and Nunavut had been staked. Canada rose to become the world’s third-largest diamond producer by value, behind Botswana and Russia, largely on the strength of the NWT’s output.
For decades, the sector generated thousands of high-paying jobs and helped build Indigenous-owned businesses across the territory. At its peak, more than 3,000 Indigenous workers were employed at the region’s three diamond mines.
Today, that foundation is starting to show cracks.
All pressure, no diamonds
Rio Tinto’s (ASX:RIO,NYSE:RIO,LSE:RIO) Diavik mine, one of the pillars of the industry, is scheduled to close next month.
Although the company recently unveiled a rare 158.2-carat yellow diamond from the site last year, described by COO Matt Breen as a “miracle of nature,” the symbolic discovery cannot reverse the mine’s finite life.
In addition, De Beers ( a subsidiary of Anglo American (LSE:AAL,OTCQX:NGLOY)) and Mountain Province Diamonds’ (TSX: MPVD,OTC:MPVD) Gahcho Kué mine has paused a project that would have extended operations from 2027 to 2030, raising concerns about its longevity.
Meanwhile, EKATI, owned by Australia’s Burgundy Diamond Mines (ASX:BDM), is battling financial distress after diamond prices fell at least 20 percent following its acquisition of the asset.
In the legislature this week, Monfwi MLA Jane Weyallon Armstrong warned of the consequences.
“The closure of Diavik and Gahcho Kué will have a significant impact on Tłı̨chǫ communities and today, the GNWT has no meaningful alternative,” she said.
Premier R.J. Simpson acknowledged the challenge. “We’re at a point now where we know the diamond mines are winding down, and the question has been: ‘OK, well, what’s next?’” he said in a recent interview.
Market headwinds multiply
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