The owners of Ekati Diamond Mine have pushed pause on the Jay project, a large expansion of the mine that could have extended its life until 2034.

Dominion Diamond Mines, which owns a controlling interest in Ekati, calls Jay the SA国际影视传媒渕ost significant undeveloped depositSA国际影视传媒� at Ekati.

If the Jay project and Fox Deep, another proposed development currently under study, do not go ahead, operations at the mine could wind down as early as 2023.

SA国际影视传媒淭he Jay expansion was an important economic assumption for the future of the territorial economy,SA国际影视传媒� Keiron Testart, MLA for Kam Lake, said Wednesday.

SA国际影视传媒淣ow that that's off the table (for now), we need to understand how that's going to impact our economic outlook for the future, and revenue, employment SA国际影视传媒� all those things that come with the mines.SA国际影视传媒�

Testart does not believe news about the Jay Project should not be SA国际影视传媒渁 source of panic,SA国际影视传媒� but said it does put lawmakers on notice.

SA国际影视传媒淲e need to look diligently toward to other sources of other economic activity and growth,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

Dominion did not provide Yellowknifer with an interview, nor did it respond directly to a list of emailed questions. Instead, a spokesperson for the company emailed a statement from CEO Patrick Evans.

In it, Evans says the company is doing an SA国际影视传媒渙ptimization studySA国际影视传媒� of the Jay project, SA国际影视传媒�with a view to reducing both capital and operating costs and optimizing the development plan and schedule.SA国际影视传媒�

Until the study is complete, he said, work on the Jay laydown area SA国际影视传媒� the place where equipment and other supplies for the project are stored SA国际影视传媒� has been put on hold.

SA国际影视传媒淭he Jay project remains in Ekati's mine plan,SA国际影视传媒� said Evans.

Wally Schumann, the minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment, said Thursday there is SA国际影视传媒渘o need to hit the panic button.SA国际影视传媒�

He said Dominion has invested heavily in exploration and is looking at other mining opportunities on the Ekati property.

SA国际影视传媒淭hey're just doing their due diligence and figuring out a way to make (the Jay project) work at the price of diamonds right now,SA国际影视传媒� said Schumann.

Diamond prices that are likely to blame of the suspension of the Jay project, says the executive director of the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines.

They have been SA国际影视传媒渄isappointingSA国际影视传媒� for the last three-to-four years, Tom Hoefer said Wednesday.

Hoefer said it is not unusual for mines to reevaluate their plans.

SA国际影视传媒淭he world markets are always changing,SA国际影视传媒� he said, adding mining companies are continuously looking for ways to SA国际影视传媒渕aximize the bottom line.SA国际影视传媒�

SA国际影视传媒淭o have another look at Jay makes good sense if the market is not doing what you expect it to do,SA国际影视传媒� said Hoefer.

The Jay kimberlite pipe lies beneath the water of Lac du Sauvage, about 25 kilomtres from the main Ekati mine site.

Mining it would require the construction a horseshoe-shaped dike similar to those built at Diavik Diamond Mine.

Preparation for the Jay project was well underway.

A road to the site was completed in October, and in a June 30, 2017 letter to the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board, Dominion reported that a request-for-proposals had been issued for construction of the dike.

Ekati is the NWT's largest diamond mine in terms of employment, confirmed Hoefer.

In 2016, the mine provided just under 1,900 person years of employment, Gaeleen McPherson, Dominion's vice-president of corporate affairs, told a standing committee of MLAs in April.

She added that Northern employees accounted for 49 per cent of Ekati's workforce.

Previously a publicly-held company, Dominion was bought by The Washington Companies last November and was immediately removed from the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges.

Because Dominion is no longer publicly traded, it is not obligated to disclose its financial information. As a result, it is unclear if Ekati has made changes to its closure plans.

A 2017 Closure and Reclamation Progress Report provided by Dominion to the WekSA国际影视传媒檈ezhii Land and Water Board, suggests that apart from Jay, most activity at Ekati will have eased up by 2023.

The company says it is also studying the economic feasibility of Fox Deep, a proposed underground development beneath Fox, one of Ekati's open pits.

Dominion says this operation could lengthen the life of Ekati to 2042.

Evans said Dominion continues to do exploration work.

The company has a SA国际影视传媒渟ignificant exploration program,SA国际影视传媒� he said, including SA国际影视传媒渆xtensive bulk samplingSA国际影视传媒� that was done last winter and plans to drill this summer.

Speaking to Yellowknifer over the phone from Norman Wells, Testart said that community is an example of what can happen to a place's economy when too much weight is given to a single commodity.

SA国际影视传媒淵ou can see how the downturn in oil and gas has really hit this region hard,SA国际影视传媒� he said, noting that the cost of living has gone up.

SA国际影视传媒淲e cannot simply hope for commodities and world markets to save us.SA国际影视传媒�