Ekati mine’s future in doubt as company files for creditor protection

Ekati Diamond Mine’s parent company has filed for creditor protection, saying it is unable to pay bills after global events caused the gem’s prices to fall by more than 70 per cent within a year.

The filings, as first reported by Cabin Radio, put at risk hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in promised payments to Indigenous communities. They also put the long-term future of the mine in doubt.

Arctic Canadian Diamond Company, the Calgary-based operator of Northwest Territories’ Ekati Diamond Mine and a subsidiary of Australian mining company Burgundy Diamond Mines, filed a tranche of documents in the Supreme Court of British Columbia this past week.

The court granted the company legal protection on Friday, giving it at least until May 11 — a temporary shield from creditors either suing for or seizing assets. 

Ekati’s diamond mine opened in 1998. It had about 700 employees in 2024, of which about 28 per cent were northern residents and about 60 per cent of those were Indigenous. However, that workforce had collapsed to about 340 employed by March 31.

Last year, the company hit a milestone, digging up 100 million carats of diamonds across its 26-year life. 

The company received a $175-million worth of loans from the federal government to ensure operations remain ongoing and jobs were protected.

In a statement issued Monday, N.W.T Industry, Tourism and Investment Minister Caitlin Cleveland said her government is “closely monitoring the court proceedings and will continue to advocate for the interests of northern workers and communities as this process unfolds.”

Cleveland also said the territorial government is ready to support affected workers by connecting them with resources.

Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins said he thinks the message glosses over what’s at stake.

“The key is people feel the risk and they can keep saying, ‘Well, don’t worry, we’re going to have these major projects in a couple of years.’ Well, really? That major spending and major development isn’t going to happen for one year or two years, three or five years,” Hawkins said.

“So it’s a lot of lean days ahead if this is the type of message we’re sending.”

In a statement to CBC News, Union of Northern Workers president Gayla Thunstrom said it’s a “very stressful time” for the union’s members.

“It’s frustrating to see this type of thing keep happening over and over again with each new owner. Sometimes it feels like northern workers and communities are treated like collateral by these corporations, but this is about more than markets and portfolios — this is about workers and their livelihoods,” Thunstrom wrote.

N.W.T. MP Rebecca Alty said in a written statement on Monday that she’s “concerned” by what’s happening at Ekati and that the federal government will have more to say in the coming days. She said the government’s main focus is on the mine’s employees.

“We will be there to support them through this difficult time,” the statement reads.

Documents detail financial…