The mine, a joint venture with De Beers group owning 51% and Mountain Province Diamonds 49%, is expected to produce about 54 million carats of rough diamonds over its lifetime.
"Today marks a significant landmark for De Beers in Canada as Gahcho Kué becomes an important contributor to the group’s global production," said De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver.
The mine exploits three kimberlite pipes in an open-cast operation. The fly-in, fly-out remote mine site is about 280km northeast of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories of Canada.
Gahcho Kué will employ approximately 530 people on a full-time basis.
Alex Shishlo, Editor of the Rough&Polished European Bureau in Brussels