PDAC 2016: Mining downturn poses enormous threat to NWT, premier says

When De Beers halted its Snap Lake mine within the Northwest Territories in December and let go 600 people, it sent some shockwaves through the region. It had been not a secret the mine had major problems, but De Beers spent a lot cash on it that many people didn’t think the company would actually quit.

“It was forever in the rear of our mind (that De Beers could leave),” Premier Bob McLeod said in an interview.

The Snap Lake closure was a wake-up demand the NWT, where mining comprises 40 to Half of the economy. The NWT has been one of Canada’s fastest-growing economies for years, but shuttering Snap Lake is having an impact.

Related

Sentiment muted at PDAC conference despite signs of life in mining industry

“If we don’t have mining, we’re to government being the biggest a part of our economy,” McLeod said. “Not what we want.”

In the short term, he’s concerned that three promising mining projects (Nechalacho, NICO and Prairie Creek) are stalled because of a lack of capital. He’s also frustrated the NWT continues to score relatively poorly within the Fraser Institute’s rankings of mining jurisdictions (it came 35th in the latest rankings). He thinks those rankings are skewed by people who haven’t worked in the territory in decades and aren’t aware of the improvements in the overall investment environment.

McLeod is confident that more large diamond mines will be discovered in the long run, although the big finds in the NWT all date back to the 1990s.