Drag to turn the globe

Mines/Canada

Diavik mine

Diavik mine, Canada. Producing, underground, mining diamonds since 2003.

Why Diavik is famous

Diamond mine in Canada's Northwest Territories run by Rio Tinto. Rio's 2025 report notes pending closure and downgraded all remaining reserves. Aber Resources and Rio Tinto Exploration began exploring around Lac de Gras in 1991 and 1992. The A21, A154 South, A154 North and A418 kimberlite pipes were found in 1994 and 1995. Construction was approved in 2000 and diamond production started in 2003. A fourth pipe began production in 2018, and Rio Tinto became sole owner in November 2021 after buying Dominion Diamond Mines' 40 per cent. Rio gave the mine life as running through early 2026.1,2,3

Story cards

Timeline

  1. 1991Diamonds found at Lac de Gras4

What kind of deposit

Kimberlite and lamproite pipe

Diavik today

Mining in Canada

Where next

Events

Led toDiamonds found at Lac de GrasRead what happened near Diavik: Diamonds found at Lac de Gras.1

Deposit types

An example ofKimberlite and lamproite pipeDiavik belongs to the kimberlite and lamproite pipe family of deposits.5

Sources

  1. Form 20-F for the year ended 31 December 2025 Rio Tinto (SEC)
  2. Diavik Diamond Mine Wikidata
  3. Annual Report on Form 20-F for 2025 Rio Tinto plc (SEC)
  4. History of Diamonds in the NWT Government of the Northwest Territories
  5. Mineral Deposit Models (Bulletin 1693, Cox and Singer, eds., 1986) US Geological Survey

From the Prospector Trails mining history dataset: each fact links to the source it was checked against. Figures are as the source gives them, in the money of their day. Not investment advice.

Keep exploring

Stories with these minerals

The Super Pit gold mine at Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, at sunsetMining historyGold rushes, then and nowGold and lithium · WorldwideGold drill-hole columns over the Abitibi on a satellite map of QuébecData storyUnder QuébecDrill holes · QuébecUranium drill-hole columns over the Athabasca Basin on a satellite map of SaskatchewanData storyUnder SaskatchewanDrill holes · SaskatchewanA Caterpillar 797 haul truck with a worker standing beside a front tyre that is more than twice his heightEquipmentHaul trucksHauling · Open-pit mines

All mining storiesThe world runs on rockAll mineralsMining by country

Cover photos from Wikimedia Commons: Super Pit, Kalgoorlie by Kgbo, CC BY-SA 4.0; Haul trucks by Lechhabmed, CC BY-SA 4.0.