Diavik Diamond Mine Diavik Diamond Mine The Diavik Diamond Mine is a diamond mine in the North Slave Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada, about northeast of Yellowknife. Diavik Diamond Mine is an industrial complex set in a remote, sub-Arctic landscape. It consists of four kimberlite pipes associated with the Lac de Gras kimberlite field and is located on an island in Lac de Gras and is informally called East Island. It is about south of the Arctic Circle. In the 2015 satellite image below, one can see the two main open pits, waste rock pile, and an airstrip capable of landing aircraft
Permafrost construction on permafrost owing to the change of soil properties of the ground on which structures are placed and the biological processes in permafrost, e.g. the preservation of organisms frozen "in situ". Building on permafrost is difficult because the heat of the building (or pipeline) can thaw the permafrost and destabilize the structure. Three common solutions include: using foundations on wood piles; building on a thick gravel pad (usually 1–2 metres/3.3–6.6 feet thick); or using anhydrous ammonia heat pipes. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System uses heat pipes built into vertical supports to prevent the pipeline from sinking and the Qingzang railway