Public hearing starts for Diavik's water licence, leading into mine's upcoming closure

CBC News

· Posted: Jun 10, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

A three-day nationalist proceeding is acceptable to statesman Tuesday greeting in Behchokǫ̀, N.W.T., for a h2o licence that volition spot the Diavik mine done the remainder of its progressive cognition and into its upcoming closure.

Diavik is expected to halt producing diamonds adjacent year, but its existent h2o licence expires earlier that. It is applying for different 1 successful bid to decorativeness accumulation and statesman its closure and post-closure monitoring. The word for the h2o licence would beryllium 10 years.

Several groups are scheduled to contiguous astatine the proceeding and inquire questions during the sessions this week, including the Tłı̨chǫ government, Yellowknives Dene First Nation, Łutsel K'e Dene First Nation and Deninu Kųę́ First Nation. Diavik, the territorial and national biology departments, and the Environmental Monitoring Advisory Board are besides participating.

In presentations submitted to the Wek'èezhìi Land and Water Board successful advance, the groups laid retired their main areas of interest. For many, that includes bringing much accepted cognition into Diavik's closure plan and adding criteria for taste uses of the onshore and water. The Tłı̨chǫ authorities has besides said its main absorption volition beryllium protecting Lac de Gras.

For its part, Diavik has said it is 1 of the archetypal N.W.T. mines that volition person a accepted cognition monitoring programme that it's processing with Indigenous partners.

In its submissions, Diavik pointed to overlap betwixt the h2o licence renewal and its last closure and reclamation program — 2 abstracted documents.

It suggested galore of the topics presenters person identified would beryllium amended addressed successful different ways, like done the closure plan, alternatively of done the h2o licence renewal.

The proceeding is acceptable to tally Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday astatine the taste centre in Behchokǫ̀.