Diavik Diamond Mines Inc.: Our Future is Underground

www.diavik.ca

Challenge

When Diavik first opened its diamond mine, costs were relatively low, the quality of the ore body high, and the diamond ore plentiful. Diavik was able to mine the rich and easy to reach ore body with open pit mining. When the open pit was exhausted, there was still diamond rough to be profitably mined on the property, but the ore body was not so easily mined or of the same quality as in the first phase of mining. The cost of underground mining was also much higher than open pit. 

Overall, this signalled a drastic shift in the business model for the company, which now required more efficiency and a smaller workforce.

Diavik needed to communicate with staff about its transition from open pit to underground mining. This shift represented a dramatic change for the company and for staff, so open and honest communication was critical.

Solution

Our Future is Underground was created to communicate to employees and external stakeholders about what the changes meant. We created a DVD to showcase underground operations and jobs, and a poster series was distributed at job fairs and around the mine site. The campaign was launched with a CEO presentation to every operating unit at the mine site, engaging several hundred employees at once.