Canadian diamonds The Ekati Diamond Mine is Canada's first underground diamond operation, and is owned by Dominion Diamond Mines. To date, Ekati has produced nearly 40 million carats of uncut diamond stones out of 6 open pit mines. The Renard diamond mine is Quebec's first diamond mine. The mine is expected to produce an average of 1.6 million carats per year over an initial 14-year mine life. The Snap Lake Diamond Mine is located northeast of Yellowknife as well, not far from Diavik. Snap lake is owned by De Beers and was their first mine outside of Africa. Snap Lake is also
Argyle diamond mine of the open pit; these reserves would be mined underground (by block caving), rather than the open pit method currently used. In late 2005, Rio Tinto Ltd concluded that the operation was economically feasible. Pre-production construction of the underground mine commenced in early to mid 2006 The Argyle diamond mine is economically feasible because its large reserves and high-grade ore offset a low average diamond value. The estimated value of Argyle diamond production is only US$7 per carat ($35/g); this compares to values of $70 per carat ($350/g) for diamonds produced at the Diavik mine and US$170 per carat ($850/g)