Diamond production at Rio Tinto’s Diavik deposit in Canada fell 28% year on year in the second quarter, after the mine paused operations during a bereavement period for workers killed in a plane crash. 

Output from the mine came to 702,000 carats for the three months that ended June 30, Rio Tinto said Tuesday. In January, a small plane carrying workers to the Diavik mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories crashed, killing a number of people on board. Following the accident, the miner halted production to allow employees to grieve.  

The total was also 5% lower than the 740,000 carats Rio Tinto recovered in the first quarter, which was also impacted by the pause. A portion of the open pit at Diavik reaching the end of its life span also dented production, the miner explained. Output for the first half dropped 25% year on year to 1.4 million carats, from the processing of 705,000 tonnes of ore. That compares with 873,000 tonnes in the first six months of 2023. 

Earlier this month, the miner announced it had temporarily closed one of Diavik’s primary pits due to unstable ground caused by subsidence, which can lead to a gradual caving, or sinking, of an area of land, making it unsafe. Rio Tinto does not know how long the pit will be closed, or how it will affect production for the rest of the year. 

Diavik is Rio Tinto’s only diamond asset, following the closure of its Argyle mine in Australia in 2020 and the sale of its interest in the Fort à la Corne diamond exploration project to joint-venture partner Star Diamond last year. Diavik was originally due to be completed in 2025. Rio Tinto invested $40 million to extend the project’s life into 2026, adding more than 2 million carats of rough production. 

The company has not provided a production forecast for the full year. 

Image: The Diavik mine. (Rio Tinto)