Last Wednesday, Stornoway Diamond Corporation officially opened the Renard Diamond in Quebec after two decades of development.
“[This launch] marks the culmination of approximately 20 years of work to bring the Renard project from a green-field exploration concept to a fully operating new diamond mine,” says Matt Manson, Stornoway’s president and chief executive officer. “While we celebrate the official opening ceremony today, our production ramp-up continues and we remain on schedule to achieve commercial production by the year end.”
Dignitaries attending the ceremony included Pierre Arcand, Quebec’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources.
Located near the Otish Mountains, the new mine is expected to yield 1.8 million carats per annum for the first 10 years of mining, with a 14-year minelife. Probable mineral reserves stand at 22.3 million carats, with total indicated resources of 30.2 million carats and 13.35 million carats inferred.
Construction on Renard began on July 10, 2014, two days after Stornoway completed a $946 million transaction to fund the project. Funding was provided by Orion Mine Finance, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Blackstone Tactical Opportunities.
