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The Diavik diamond mine, which stops active mining next month after more than 20 years, has signed a closure agreement with the Tłı̨chǫ Government.
A signing ceremony took place in Behchokǫ̀ on Thursday.
In a joint news release, the Tłı̨chǫ Government and Rio Tinto said the deal “reaffirms the shared commitment of both parties to safe and responsible reclamation and long-term stewardship of Tłı̨chǫ lands.”
Exact details of the agreement were not provided.
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The news release stated the deal includes “funding for socio-economic mitigations to support Tłı̨chǫ-led initiatives” as well as “commitments to employment, training and business opportunities for the Tłı̨chǫ” as the mine workforce shrinks once closure work begins in March.
Diavik plans to spend from 2026 to 2029 completing closure of the site.
More: A quick guide to the end of Diavik
The mine has already worked on closure for years alongside active mining – an approach it calls “progressive reclamation.” That means the closure period is set to be much shorter than for some other mines.
By 2029, Diavik expects to start a “post-closure monitoring” period until 2040, after which it hopes to relinquish the land. There probably won’t be an active presence at the site after 2030.
In late 2025, about 1,000 people worked at Diavik, meaning 500 or so workers on site at any one time. Of those, about a third were northerners. Fourteen percent of the people employed were defined by the mine as “northern Indigenous.”
