The Ekati diamond mine’s owner has fallen behind on its impact benefit agreement payments to Indigenous groups in the Northwest Territories.
Impact benefit agreements, or IBAs, are deals between mine owners and Indigenous communities designed to mitigate a mine’s impacts and ensure locals share in project benefits.
Despite signing agreements to receive federally backed loans worth up to $175 million, Burgundy Diamond Mines is more than a year behind on IBA payments according to a letter posted online by the Deninu Kųę́ First Nation this week.
The letter, appearing to come from the chiefs of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, states Burgundy has not made payments scheduled for either 2025 or 2026, nor provided a timeline for when those payments should be expected.
The letter’s signatories are YKDFN’s Chief Ernest Betsina and Chief Fred Sangris on behalf of 3320588 Canada Ltd. That numbered company is described by Burgundy as a joint venture of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, Deninu Kųę́ First Nation and Łútsël K’é Dene First Nation.
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“As of this year no funding has come though as of yet, which we have been expecting for some time,” the Deninu Kųę́ First Nation stated. (The Yellowknives Dene First Nation could not be reached for comment or to confirm the letter’s authenticity.)
In a statement to Cabin Radio, Burgundy Diamond Mines communications manager Ariella Calin did not dispute the letter’s contents but said the company was “committed to meeting our stakeholder obligations.”
Calin said Burgundy was also talking to the Hamlet of Kugluktuk and Kitikmeot Inuit Association, Tłı̨chǫ Government and North Slave Métis Alliance – with whom it has similar agreements – “regarding the 2025 and 2026 payment plans.”
The value of the payments is not known. Impact benefit agreements are private contracts and their terms are not generally made public.
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In a Friday statement, the NWT government’s Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment confirmed the territory “does not hold any powers or responsibilities regarding the enforcement of Burgundy’s IBA obligations.”
The department said it “encourages companies to adhere to their commitments.”
Diamond mining in the NWT has been in precipitous decline.
The Diavik diamond mine closed on schedule at the end of March after more than 20 years in operation, but Ekati and nearby Gahcho Kué were each expected to remain operational until at least the end of the decade. That now seems far from certain.
Ekati laid off hundreds of staff last year before receiving two federally backed loans, one worth $115 million followed by a more recent $60-million extension. But the mine is not meeting its regulatory obligations and its future is unclear.
