Rio Tinto's wholly owned Diavik Diamond Mines Inc., operator of the Diavik diamond mine in Canada's Northwest Territories, has released its 2012 mid-year socio-economic monitoring report. The report includes a comprehensive summary of the company's annual training, employment and business initiatives, the miner states.

Report Highlights

Training: At mid-year, Diavik and its contractors employed a total number of 36 apprentices, all of whom are Northern, with 21 who are Aboriginal. In the past two years, the number of Diavik apprentices has doubled. Since 2003, 32 Diavik apprentices have successfully certified as journeypersons.

Employment: At the end of June, the Diavik operations workforce averaged 1,165 people, of whom 642 (55 percent) were priority hire Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal northern workers.

Business: During the first half of 2012, Diavik's combined capital and operating expenses amounted to approximately US$237 million, of which an estimated US$146 million (62 percent) was with Northern businesses. Of the latter, US$61.5 million was spent on Aboriginal businesses. Cumulative Northern expenditures amount to an estimated US$3.8 billion, of which approximately US$2.1 billion has been paid to Aboriginal businesses and their joint ventures.

Benefits to local communities: Over 40 local initiatives were funded by Diavik's employee donations committee during the first six months of the year, amounting to approximately  US$124,600.   

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