De Beers and its joint venture partner Mountain Province mull laying off 5% of staff at the Gahcho Kué diamond mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories (NWT) following a halt of the project’s expansion, a spokesperson told Rapaport agency.
Partners have made the decision to pause the Phase 3 expansion of the Tuzo deposit following a "careful assessment of the project's economics considering the prevailing market environment." Mountain Province said that even though the project has demonstrated strong potential, current market conditions have prompted a "measured approach" to its development.
"Since the recent joint-venture decision to pause the Tuzo extension, we have been working internally to assess the appropriate approach to the mine’s employment needs," De Beers spokesperson noted.
"As a result of this, we have begun engaging with a small number of employees — around 5% of Gahcho Kué employees — regarding redundancies, with a focus on limiting potential impacts upon our NWT-resident workforce."
According to the source, partners will continue to assess operational requirements as they review how the external landscape develops and how that will affect the production plans at Gahcho Kué.
The mine currently has between 500 and 1,000 employees and contract workers, Rapaport said.
Theodor Lisovoy, Managing Editor, Rough&Polished
