Ekati owner says new kimberlite deposit could extend mine life

The company that owns the North's largest diamond mine says a new depositof diamond-containing rock could potentiallyextend the life of the Ekati mine by more than a decade.

Right now, the mine is slated to wind down operations by 2019. But Dominion Diamonds,which owns 80 per cent of the existing mine,says it's looking into developing a recently discovered kimberlite pipe that could potentially keepmining operations there going into 2030 and beyond.

Kimberlite is a type of igneous rock that sometimes contains diamonds. Vertical, carrot-shapeddeposits of kimberlite within the Earth's crust are known as pipes.

The particular pipe Dominion is looking to exploit is called the Jay pipeand is located within granite rock under a lake in the southeastern corner of the Ekatiproperty in the Northwest territories

"Looking to the future, we have already defined a concept for the mining of the Jay pipe with the potential to add 10 to 15 years of production beyond the current Ekati mine plan," the company said in a press release announcing its quarterly results after North American stock markets closed on Wednesday.

In the three months up until the end ofJuly, Dominion spent $900,000 on exploration work on the Jay pipe, the company said.

The company,formerly called Harry Winston Diamond Corp.,says it plans to file a report with more details on the potential new kimberlite pipe next month.