TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The Gahcho Kué mine has received its third major award.

It won the Viola R MacMillan Award during the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada Awards Gala earlier this week.

The award, for demonstrating leadership in management and financing for the exploration and development of mineral resources, was accepted by Gahcho Kué mine GM Allan Rodel, on behalf of De Beers Canada, and Patrick Evans, CEO of Mountain Province Diamonds. Gahcho Kué is a joint venture between De Beers, which owns a 51% interest and is the operator of the mine, and Mountain Province. The mine officially started commercial production on March 2.

The fly-in/fly-out remote mine site is situated about 280 km northeast of Yellowknife, in the Northwest Territories (NWT) of Canada. Comprising three openpits, the mine will employ 530 people full-time, with the majority working a two-week in/two-week out rotation.

"To build and bring into operation a world-class mine like Gahcho Kué safely, early and ahead of budget is rare in the mining industry today. This award is recognition that we are on the right track and that our employees, community and business partners are also able to deliver on a world-class level,” De Beers Canada CEO Kim Truter stated.

Evans added: "This award recognises the combined efforts of a large and talented team of mining and finance professionals who contributed to the successful financing and development of Gahcho Kué. The support of our shareholders and debt providers was critically importantly. We also extend our thanks and appreciation to the De Beers operating team at Gahcho Kué for their exceptional hard work during the project development."

In 2016, Gahcho Kué received gold at the eleventh Annual Project Management Institute's awards gala, as well as the Workplace Health and Safety Award from the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce.

Further to a C$440-million boost to the NWT economy through 2015, the Gahcho Kué mine will provide another C$5.3-billion in gross value added to the NWT now that it has reached commercial production, according to a socioeconomic impact report by EY.