Diamond mining has brought 25 years of growth to the Northwest Territories, but a development corporation veteran is warning that more mines need to come online or the benefits will migrate elsewhere.

An economic analysis of the impact of diamond mining on Indigenous communities over the past quarter century was commissioned by three Indigenous development corporations (IDCs) SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½” and it's been significant.

"It's been a very positive impact," said Tlicho Investment Corporation CEO Paul Gruner, who noted he's now worked for four IDCs and can say the impact is widespread.

Findings from the report show mining activity created 675 jobs across the communities of Yellowknife, Ndilo, Dettah, Behchoko, Whatì, Wekweeti, and Gameti SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½” ranging from jobs directly in the mining sector to mining support jobs and other services brought through the economic development. Of those jobs, 355 employ Indigenous hires. These jobs created a combined income of $39.6 million. In addition, mining activity brought in $104 million annually to IDCs.

That $104 million in annual revenue has been put to use in initiatives such as multi-year housing projects in the Tlicho region, a community-freezer project overseen by North Slave Metis Alliance and an expansion into both Nunavut and Saskatchewan by DetSA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½™on Cho Logistics.

Gruner said the 25 years of capacity building have left the NWT with a lot of leverage for establishing new mining projects. Having local expertise means mining firms can hire from within the territory instead of importing talent, which significantly saves costs in both transport and human resources.

"If you already have a workforce that's proven, tested and skilled, that's fantastic," he said. "Companies are going to find that very appealing and attractive, so we want to make sure we're working with them to attract new opportunities and projects to go forward."

He added that adapting current mining infrastructure to supply increasing demand for critical minerals as governments work to transition from fossil fuel economies to less climate-adverse ones is possible, but would require some level of retraining, such as moving from surface mining to underground mining.

Economist Graeme Clinton completed the study, which was commissioned by Tlicho Investment Corporation, DetSA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½™on Cho Group of Companies and Metcor Inc. They serve the Tlicho Government, Yellowknives Dene First Nation and the North Slave Metis Alliance, respectively.

Gruner said mines served as an "economic anchor" that allowed other commercial arrangements to develop. He noted the Giant mine remediation project and other shut-downs would "soften the blow" and keep the wheels turning for another 10 years, but he stressed the current financial picture of mines closing down with nothing to replace them could knock out the economic foundations the rest of the NWT is built on.

He cautioned if the mining industry doesn't pick up new projects, the expertise that's been established over the past quarter century would take their talents elsewhere.

"We've got to be developing new mining operations," he said. "We don't want to have all of that leaving the territory and then we're back to where we started.

"If you lose all three mines, you lose the entire sector. That changes the game."

Gruner said he was encouraged by the GNWT's quick response to recent asks from the mining industry and commended the government for moving aggressively. The next step, he said, is getting the federal government into a "nation-building mentality" to fund more all-season roads and clean energy infrastructure to ensure the basic requirements for mining development are in place.