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Enter Symbol
or Name
USA
CA



Dominion Diamond Corp
Symbol DDC
Shares Issued 85,335,979
Close 2016-05-31 C$ 13.76
Market Cap C$ 1,174,223,071
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Dominion Diamond won't begin Jay development this year

2016-05-31 17:40 ET - News Release

Mr. Brendan Bell reports

DOMINION DIAMOND CORPORATION PROVIDES UPDATE ON JAY PROJECT FEASIBILITY STUDY

Dominion Diamond Corp. has provided an update on the progress of a feasibility study (FS) on the Jay kimberlite pipe deposit located within the Buffer zone joint venture property in Canada's Northwest Territories, in which the company holds a majority interest. The company has determined that it can maintain continuous production at Ekati without starting major construction at Jay this year, and as a result will adjust the Jay project schedule to reflect this change.

The initial design basis for the Jay FS had assumed the commencement of major construction this year. Changes to the Ekati mine plan have, however, made feasible the delivery of a continuous ore supply to the Ekati processing plant that allows further optimization of the Jay project. These changes include the availability of Sable ore, deepening of the Koala underground and the continued successful trial of a lower throughput in the processing plant as a tool to increase recovery. Furthermore, delaying the use of the Misery pit as a water management facility would allow more time for mining below the currently planned open pit.

The company is completing the Jay FS based on a revised development schedule. The new schedule assumes that the construction of an all-season access road to the shoreline of Lac du Sauvage would occur in calendar year 2017, followed by construction of the water retention dike and associated infrastructure in 2018 to 2020, with dike instrumentation, dewatering and the start of prestripping in 2021, and mining and processing of Jay kimberlite by late 2022.

Jay is the most significant undeveloped deposit at the Ekati diamond mine due to its large size and high grade. Jay is located beneath Lac du Sauvage, a moderate-sized lake north of Lac de Gras, and is approximately 1.2 kilometres from the shoreline. The Jay pipe is approximately seven km to the northeast of the Misery pit and related infrastructure, and 30 km to the southeast of the main Ekati mine infrastructure.

Brendan Bell, chief executive officer, stated: "We are very pleased with the progress of the Jay feasibility study. The changes we have made to the Ekati mine plan will allow us to maintain continuous feed to the Ekati processing plant, even with an extended timeline for commencing construction. We are also excited about the possibility of additional mining below the currently planned Misery open pit. The extra time will allow us to further advance Jay project permitting and to make aggressive efforts to reduce costs at the Ekati mine. We are completing the feasibility study and an updated mine plan based on this revised schedule and look forward to releasing the results shortly."

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