Diavik diamond mine lays off 51 employees 'from across the business'

Fifty-one workers at the N.W.T.'s Diavikdiamond mine have lost their jobs, CBC News has learned.

"Unfortunately, with the current market challenges, we have had to reduce the number of employees in our business," saidMarc Cameron, president of Diavik Diamond Mines Inc., in a statement.

"Fifty-oneDiavik employees, from across the business, were impacted."

In late October, the company let 13 full-time employees go. A spokesperson said at the time,they had been working on a dike for the new A21pit, and construction of the dike was ending.

The move marks yet another blow to N.W.T.'s resource-dependent economy.

Earlier this month, Dominion Diamond Corporation, which owns 40 per cent of Diavik and operates the Ekati Diamond Mine, announced it was moving its headquarters from Yellowknife to Calgary, affecting 100 jobs.

• 100 jobs affected as Dominion Diamond relocates head office from Yellowknife to Calgary

Last December, De Beers Canada closed its Snap Lake diamond mine, laying off 434 employees. Ninety-six Snap Lake workers were transferred to the Gahcho Kue diamond mine, which had its grand opening in September.