Rio Tinto\u2019s diamond production declined sharply in the first nine months of 2026 as its Diavik mine in Canada moved into closure, following the exhaustion of its economically recoverable reserves.<\/p>\n
The mining group recovered 1.074 million carats during January-September, compared with 3.317 million carats in the same period last year, according to its third-quarter production report. No diamonds were recovered in the July-September quarter.<\/p>\n
Diavik\u2019s final phase of mining ended in March 2026 after 23 years of operations. The mine, located in Canada\u2019s Northwest Territories, produced more than 150 million carats of rough diamonds during its operating life. Rio Tinto is continuing to handle the remaining material and expects to sell its existing diamond inventory through the end of 2026.<\/p>\n
The closure marks the end of Rio Tinto\u2019s producing diamond mining operations. The company ceased production at Australia\u2019s Argyle mine in 2020.<\/p>\n
Diamond exploration remains part of its portfolio through the Chiri project in Angola.<\/p>\n
Rio Tinto\u2019s results illustrate how the depletion of a major mine can rapidly reduce a producer\u2019s contribution to rough diamond supply. With Diavik no longer generating new production, the company\u2019s near-term diamond activity will centre on selling its remaining inventory and progressing its exploration interests.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rio Tinto\u2019s diamond production declined sharply in the first nine months of 2026 as its Diavik mine in Canada moved into closure, following the exhaustion of its economically recoverable reserves. The mining group recovered 1.074 million carats during January-September, compared with 3.317 million carats in the same period last year, according to its third-quarter production…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38599,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[83],"tags":[],"thb-sponsors":[],"class_list":["post-38598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bulletin"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n