REPORTS OUR CANADA STORY OPERATIONS BUILDING FOREVER NEWS CAREERS SUPPLIERS CONTACTS OperationsMiningSnap Lake Mine SNAP LAKE MINE Snap Lake Mine, De Beers' first diamond mine outside of Africa, is 220 kilometers northeast of Yellowknife. Snap Lake is Canada's first completely underground diamond mine. SNAP LAKE MINE Location: 63° 34’ 30” latitude and 110° 52’ 00” longitude, about 220 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife Mine Area: <500 hectares 2014 Production: 1.2M carats SNAP LAKE MINE OVERVIEW Snap Lake Mine, De Beers’ first mine outside of Africa, is located 220 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife. A completely underground diamond mine, the Snap Lake ore body is a 2.5 metre thick dyke that dips an average of 12-15° from the northwest shore down under the lake. It is unlike most diamond-bearing kimberlite deposits which are known as ‘pipes’ due to their conical or carrot-like shape. By December 31, 2014 $2.2 billion had been spent on construction and operation of the mine. Of that total, $1.5 billion has been spent with NWT-based contractors and suppliers, including $863 million with Aboriginal businesses or Joint Ventures. Also, the mine commenced commercial production on January 16, 2008 and the Official Mine Opening took place on July 25, 2008. It was placed into care and maintenance on December 4, 2015. Snap Lake Mine has received a number of awards during its lifetime: 2013 Western Region John T. Ryan safety award (Select Mines) 2009 Western Region John T. Ryan safety award (Select Mines) 2009 NWT Ministerial Literacy Award (Books in Homes) RELATED STORIES $215,000 IN SNAP LAKE MINE SURPLUS EQUIPMENT GOES... 08 Dec 2017 Surplus equipment from Snap Lake Mine valued at over $215,000 has found new life with... DE BEERS CANADA ANNOUNCES EXTENDED CARE &... 26 Oct 2017 De Beers Canada is pleased to announce a new partnership for extended care and... To see how cookies are used, please review our cookie notice. If you agree to our use of cookies, please continue to use our site. SOCIAL MEDIA De Beers UK Limited (a member of the Anglo American plc group) 2021 SITE SERVICES SITE MAP PRIVACY AND COOKIES TERMS OF USE ACCESSIBILITY GROUP WEBSITES DE BEERS GROUP DE BEERS JEWELLERS FOREVERMARK DE BEERS GROUP AUCTIONS DE BEERS GROUP TECHNOLOGY DIAMOND ROUTE ELEMENT SIX GEMFAIR GLOBAL SIGHTHOLDER SALES INDUSTRY SERVICES INSTITUTE OF DIAMONDS LIGHTBOX JEWELRY TRACR