Production has come to a standstill at one of the key pits of Diavik, Canada's largest diamond mine, following safety apprehensions related to ground subsidence.

Rio Tinto, the mine's owner, disclosed that unstable ground conditions were identified along an access route to the A154 pit last Thursday evening. Consequently, all operations underground at the A154 pit have been temporarily ceased as a precautionary measure.

"While all employees are safe, we have paused operations in the A154 pit until we ascertain the cause of this incident," stated a spokesperson for the mine in an interview with local news outlet Cabin Radio.

Since its commencement of commercial production in 2003, Diavik has yielded more than 100 million carats of diamonds. The mine is scheduled to conclude its operations in 2026.

Earlier this year, Rio Tinto, which owns the mine entirely, reported a significant 50% decline in diamond production during the fourth quarter, dropping from 1.3 million carats to 659,000 carats. Despite challenges, the company's overall diamond production for the fiscal year 2023 totaled 3.34 million carats, falling 28% from 2022 but remaining within the projected range of 3.0 million to 3.8 million carats.