Significant NWT Diamond Mining Benefits Reported

15 November 2016

(Yellowknife, NT – November 15, 2016) The latest socio-economic statistics reported to the Government of the Northwest Territories (NWT) from construction and operation of the territory’s diamond mines continue to reflect significant positive benefits, now complemented with the addition of the newest diamond mine, Gahcho Kué.

The NWT’s diamond mines – Ekati, Diavik, Snap Lake and Gahcho Kué – made significant economic contributions to the North as of the end of 2015 (see Backgrounder attached). These include:

  • 3,715 total job equivalents, of which 1,894 (51%) were northern, and 880 (24%) Aboriginal; and 
  • $1.517 billion in purchasing, of which $688 million (45%) was with northern firms and $319 (21%) was with Aboriginal firms.

These figures mark significant increases from the year previous. In 2014, the mines reported:

  • 3,234 person years, of which 1,508 (47%) was northern and 783 (24%) was Aboriginal; 
  • $979 million in purchasing, of which $653 million (67%) was with northern firms and $239 million (24%) was with Aboriginal firms.

Cumulatively, from 1996 – 2015 the diamond mines have contributed:

  • Over 50,000 person years of employment, of which 49% is northern and 24% is Aboriginal; and 
  • Over $17 billion in business expenditures, of which over $12 billion was with northern firms and over $5 billion with Aboriginal companies.

The diamond mines also make significant contributions through a variety of taxes and in royalties that benefit territorial, federal and Aboriginal governments. As an example, combined property and fuel taxes paid by the mines since 2000 exceed $300 million.

The mines’ direct benefits combined with indirect benefits through other sectors of the economy such as construction and transportation, continue to contribute significantly to the NWT’s economy. These benefits helped contribute to the high support for mining expressed in the first ever NWT mining survey conducted earlier this year, the 25th Anniversary of the discovery of diamonds in the NWT.

Figures are taken from socio-economic reports submitted annually by the diamond mines to the NWT Government under their Socio-Economic Agreement requirements. 

(Tables with additional detail are appended to the full release) 

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