07 February 2012
2011 Diavik socio-economic highlights
Yellowknife, NT - Diavik Diamond Mines Inc., operator of the Diavik Diamond Mine, is pleased to release its 2011 socio-economic monitoring agreement report, which provides a detailed summary of northern training, employment, and business benefits.
Highlights include:
- Training: As part of our continuing commitment to support northerners develop trade skills, Diavik and minesite contractors supported 34 apprentices in 2011. All are northern and 19 are Aboriginal. Additionally, four northerners successfully completed their apprenticeships bringing the total number of Diavik apprentices to have achieved journeyperson certification to 31.
- Employment: For the year, our northern workforce averaged 642 people. Aboriginal employment averaged 313 people. These numbers are well above original feasibility projections. In 2011, Diavik hired 60 underground mining staff, including 42 northern workers. Of the northern hires, 24 are Aboriginal.
- Business: 2011 spending with northern business totalled $302.7 million, or 69 per cent of the $438.1 million total spend. Of the northern expenditures, $124.8 million was with Aboriginal business. Our cumulative northern spending since 2000 is now $3.8 billion, or 72 per cent of total spending. Spending with Aboriginal businesses and their joint ventures has surpassed $2 billion.
To view the full report, included in the reports and publications section of our web site at www.diavik.ca, click here.
The Diavik Diamond Mine, located 300 km. northeast of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories and a five-time John T. Ryan safety award winner, is an unincorporated joint venture between Diavik Diamond Mines Inc. (60%) and Harry Winston Diamond Limited Partnership (40%). Both companies are headquartered in Yellowknife, Canada. DDMI is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto plc of London, England, and Harry Winston Diamond Limited Partnership is wholly owned by Harry Winston Diamond Corporation of Toronto, Canada. For further information contact Doug Ashbury, Adviser Communications at Tel: (867) 669-6500, or visit the DDMI web site at www.diavik.ca.