Snap Lake Diamond Mine Snap Lake Diamond Mine Snap Lake Mine is a remote fly-in/fly-out operation located about northeast of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, and, according to De Beers, was the first De Beers mine outside of Africa. It was also Canada's first completely underground diamond mine. Construction began with the opening of an access winter road in 2005. By the end of 2013, De Beers had spent US$1.8 billion on construction and mine operation. Of that total, De Beers spent US$1.3 billion with Northwest Territories-based contractors and suppliers, including US$723 million with Aboriginal businesses or joint ventures. The mine began commercial production on January
Ekati Diamond Mine 62-million-year-old kimberlite pipes (Creaser et al., 2004) of the Lac de Gras kimberlite field, most of which lie underneath shallow lakes. Between 1998 and 2009, the mine has produced 40 million carats () of diamonds out of six open pits. As the high grade ore close to surface was depleted, development was completed to access the ore utilizing underground methods. Currently, there is one underground operation (Koala) with open-cut mining occurring in Fox Pit. The mine's current annual production is estimated to be approximately 7.5 million carats () of diamonds. Ekati supplies rough diamonds to the global market through its