Diamond mining giant De Beers is put ting its Snap Lake mine in Canada on care and maintenance status following a review of its global operations due to market conditions.
The company said in a statement that it expects this status to last for one to nine months.
More than 430 workers are being fired as a result of the move .
De Beers said it will keep market conditions under review during 2016 in order to decide whether it is financially viable to recommence mining at the operation .
Around 120 workers are needed for suspension work, while care and maintenance require another 70. Another 41 employees are being transferred to De Beers' Gahcho Kué p roject, with the potential for another 60 to move next year. The miner said that 434 workers have been told they are not needed for care and maintenance work.
Kim Truter, De Beers Canada’s CEO, said : “The men and women at Snap Lake have put enormous effort into this challenging ore body over many years, but even the gains made this year are not enough to overcome the market conditions and put us in a profitable position . ”
