YELLOWKNIFE (February 6, 2013) The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) is in active discussions with Harry Winston Diamond Corporation, soon to be renamed Dominion Diamond Corporation (DDC). These discussions are the first step in securing a formal diamond allocation agreement with DDC for a portion of production from their diamond mining interests in the NWT.
“The NWT diamond industry continues to bring substantial training, employment and business benefits to the NWT,” said Minister David Ramsay. “We welcome DDC’s continued commitment to supporting diamond manufacturing in the NWT, ensuring we are able to realize even more value from this important sector of the NWT economy."
The Chairman and Chief Executive of Harry Winston, Robert Gannicott, said “We are pleased to see the diamond polishing industry rise to the challenge of marketing Canadian polished diamonds in a manner that can sustain a premium capable of supporting a NWT based polishing industry.”
Attracting and sustaining investment in the NWT's diamond manufacturing sector enables the NWT to capture additional benefits from diamond mining activities. Agreements between the GNWT and diamond producers allow approved NWT diamond manufacturers to purchase rough diamonds from a percentage of the value of producers’ NWT mine production, helping to support the sector.
The discussions between DDC and the GNWT will form the basis of the final diamond allocation agreement and will make additional NWT-mined rough diamonds available to approved NWT diamond manufacturers, supplementing the rough diamonds already available through existing agreements with other NWT producers. Supporting the NWT diamond manufacturing sector is one of the ways the GNWT is working to achieve the 17th Legislative Assembly’s goal of a diversified economy that provides opportunities to communities and regions.
For more information, contact:
Alayna Ward
Manager, Public Affairs and Communications
Industry, Tourism and Investment
Government of the Northwest Territories
(867) 920-8696