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Rio Tinto’s Diamond Production Down 28% in Q2
The company’s sole remaining diamond operation, Diavik, produced 702,000 carats of diamonds, down from 970,000 a year ago.
The recently completed solar power plant at Rio Tinto’s Diavik Diamond Mine. The mine, which is expected to cease production in 2026, saw production drop 28 percent in Q2 and 26 percent year-to-date. (Photo courtesy of Rio Tinto)
Melbourne, Australia—Diamond production fell by double-digits in the second quarter at the Diavik Diamond Mine, Rio Tinto’s sole remaining diamond asset.
The mining company announced Tuesday that production at Diavik totaled 702,000 carats in Q2 (April/May/June), down 28 percent from 970,000 carats in the second quarter 2023.
Year-to-date, Diavik’s production is down 26 percent. The mine has produced 1.4 million carats of diamonds in the first half of 2024, compared with 1.9 million carats in H1 2023.
While Rio Tinto provided no reason for the decline in its second-quarter production, the company said in the first quarter, the mine’s production fell because it paused operations to mourn the six individuals killed when a plane en route to the mine crashed on Jan 23.
Q1 production at Diavik totaled 740,000 carats, down 22 percent year-over-year.
Rio Tinto said Tuesday that the investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing.
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The mining company announced Tuesday that production at Diavik totaled 702,000 carats in Q2 (April/May/June), down 28 percent from 970,000 carats in the second quarter 2023.
Year-to-date, Diavik’s production is down 26 percent. The mine has produced 1.4 million carats of diamonds in the first half of 2024, compared with 1.9 million carats in H1 2023.
While Rio Tinto provided no reason for the decline in its second-quarter production, the company said in the first quarter, the mine’s production fell because it paused operations to mourn the six individuals killed when a plane en route to the mine crashed on Jan 23.
Q1 production at Diavik totaled 740,000 carats, down 22 percent year-over-year.
Rio Tinto said Tuesday that the investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing.
The mine also recently encountered a structural issue that could further hamper production.
Earlier this month, Cabin Radio, an independent radio station based in Yellowknife, Canada, reported that Rio Tinto had been forced to shut down one of the two major pits at Diavik, the A154, because of subsidence (sinking or caving in of the earth) along one of the access roads leading to the mine.
A Rio Tinto spokesperson told National Jeweler that the company is working to resume full operations as soon as possible.
Located in Canada’s Northwest Territories, Diavik officially opened in January 2003 and is set to cease production in 2026.
Earlier this month, Rio Tinto announced that it has completed construction on a 3.5-megawatt capacity solar power plant. The plant will provide up to a quarter of the mine’s electricity during closure work, which is expected to continue until 2029.
Rio Tinto said the 6,620-panel facility is the largest off-grid solar power plant in Canada’s territories.
It is expected to generate 4.2 million kilowatt-hours of solar energy a year, reducing the mine’s diesel consumption by 1 million liters (more than 264,000 gallons) and cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 2,900 tons of CO2 equivalent, comparable to removing 630 cars from the road a year.
The plant is equipped with bi-facial panels, which generate electricity from direct sunlight and from the light that reflects off the snow that blankets Diavik most of the year.
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