Significant Potential at Ekati, say New Owners
March 20, 23
(IDEX Online) - Burgundy's $136m deal to buy the Ekati diamond mine, in Canada, is likely to extend its life "significantly", says Kim Truter, the company's CEO.
The purchase, announced last week, from Arctic Canadian, should be concluded next month, pending financing and shareholders' approval.
"The real advantage is it's a tier-one asset in a tier-one country," Truter told CBC News, Canada's publicly owned news and information service.
He said he saw untapped potential at Ekati, which opened in 1998 as Canada's first diamond mine.
Ekati is particularly attractive to Australia-base Burgundy because of the fancy yellow stones it produces, such as the 71.26-carat octahedron diamond recovered last September (pictured), believed to be the largest fancy vivid yellow gemstone discovered in Canada.
New owner Burgundy has a keen interest in yellow diamonds. It is currently reviving the Ellendale mine, Western Australia, once the world's largest producer of fancy yellow diamonds, and has established its own dedicated cut and polish facility in Perth, also in Western Australia.
Burgundy is buying Ekati from Arctic Canadian Diamond Company, which acquired it in February 2021 after the previous owners, Dominion Diamonds, filed for insolvency.