Dominion selling diamonds again, requests extension of creditor protection

The financially troubled company that owns the Ekati diamond mine said it has begun selling diamonds again and asked for another extension for protection from its creditors.

In an affidavit filed with the Court of Queen's Bench in Calgary on Sept. 18, Dominion Diamond Mines said it sold $46-million US worth ($61.2 million Cdn) of diamonds and expects to sell another $8 million US ($10.6 million Cdn) beginning this week.

The company originally filed for insolvency protectionin April, saying it had a stockpile of diamonds it couldn't sell because the COVID-19 global pandemic had devastated the diamond industry. The protection is set to expire on Sept. 28.

Dominion asked the court to extend its protection from creditors to Nov. 7, the date by which it expects its recent sale of the mine to Canadian Diamond Holdings and LP and CA Canadian Diamond Mines ULCCA to close.

When it announced the sale of the mine on Sept. 18, Dominion said it planned to return the mine to full operations but only once the sale was finalized and if the industry had recovered.

More than 700 workers at the mine have been out of work since March, when the company shut down operations.