TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Canada’s Dominion Diamond on Monday said it has received all regulatory approvals to buy BHP Billiton’s Ekati diamond mining operations in Canada’s Northwest Territories.
The company, which had recently changed its name from Harry Winston Diamond, said the federal government and the Northwest Territories government had consented to the company completing the proposed $500-million acquisition of BHP Billiton Canada’s interests and its various affiliates in the Ekati diamond mine, as well as the associated diamond sorting and sales facilities in Yellowknife, Canada, and Antwerp, Belgium.
Dominion Diamond now expected the transaction to close on April 10.
The Ekati diamond mine consists of the ‘core zone’, which includes the current operating mine and other permitted kimberlite pipes, as well as the 'buffer zone’, an adjacent area also hosting kimberlite pipes with both development and exploration potential.
BHP Billiton, the world's largest miner, in 2011 said it planned to sell all, or part, of its diamond assets, including the Ekati mine, while it focused on larger, long-life assets.
BHP Billiton in December also sold its majority stake in the Chidliak exploration project, in northern Canada, to partner Peregrine Diamonds for C$9-million over three years, including a 2% royalty on future production from the operation.
The Ekati diamond mine, which is located about 310 km north-east of Yellowknife, included both openpit and underground operations and was Canada's first, and largest, diamond producer, having begun production in 1998.
It is located near the Diavik diamond mine in which Dominion Diamond holds a 40% interest.
Dominion Diamond’s TSX-listed shares traded up 1.20% at C$16.80 apiece on Monday.