Diavik plans to airlift equipment to mines

The Diavik Mine in Canada is planning to airlift major equipment to the site 300 kilometers northeast of the Northwest Territories capital Yellowknife following the premature closure of the ice road earlier this year due to unseasonably warm weather. This has made air transport the only option to move fuel and construction materials and equipment to Diavik, BHP Billiton�s strike-bound Ekati Mine and the new diamond mines starting up in the territory.

Diavik said it will abide to schedule regarding production and capital construction. To bring up a new excavator, the company has been forced to dismantle it and fly the pieces up in a chartered Russian Mi26 helicopter, the largest commercially available aircraft for the task.

To ferry cement, bentonite and other construction materials needed for a second channel, the company will be using a Russian Antonov AN12 aircraft, similar to the U.S. military�s Hercules transport plane. With careful conservation, the mine anticipates that sufficient fuel may be on hand to support the project until the next winter road delivery. Rio Tinto plc has a 60% stake in Diavik and Aber Diamond Corp. the other 40%.