Diavik Mine Closes After 23 Years, Final Diamond Becomes Legacy Stone

The last rough stone from Diavik is no ordinary diamond. It arrives at the end of 23 years of production, after a mine that yielded more than 150 million carats and helped define Canadian diamond prestige on the world stage.

Rio Tinto said Diavik delivered its final production on March 24, 2026, closing the chapter on a mine discovered in 1991 beneath Lac de Gras, about 220 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle, and brought into mining in 2003. The pipe complex, worked through both open pit and underground methods, became known for predominantly white gem-quality diamonds, with a smaller but prized stream of rare yellow stones. In diamond terms, scarcity is everything, and a final stone from a famous source adds another layer: provenance that collectors can read at a glance.

That matters because Rio Tinto said the final production will be polished and sold through 2026 and beyond through its international customer network, including Select Diamantaires. The stone that emerges from Diavik’s last ore body could end up in a private collection, a high jewelry setting, or an institutional acquisition, but whatever its destination, it already carries a story few diamonds can match. Diavik is Rio Tinto’s last diamond asset after Argyle closed in 2020, making the final stone a symbolic handoff from one era of mining to another.

The mine’s record strengthens that symbolism. In 2018, Diavik produced a 552.74-carat yellow diamond, Canada’s largest yellow diamond. In 2015, it recovered the 187.7-carat Diavik Foxfire. Rio Tinto also reported a 158.2-carat yellow diamond in April 2025, one of the largest gem-quality yellow diamonds ever found in Canada and one of only five yellow diamonds over 100 carats discovered at Diavik. For collectors, those numbers are not just statistics; they are the kind of pedigree that can transform a polished stone into a museum-grade object of desire.

The mine’s final day also marked a transition in stewardship. Rio Tinto and Indigenous-government partners held a formal completion celebration, and on February 26, 2026, the Tłı̨chǫ Government and Rio Tinto signed a closure agreement in Behchokǫ̀, underscoring the decades-long relationship around the site. Closure work is expected to continue through 2029, followed by post-closure monitoring. For North American diamond mining, Diavik’s end is more than an operational milestone. It is the moment a famous source stops producing and starts becoming legend.