The owner of the Ekati diamond mine in the Northwest Territories says the proposed $166 million dollar sale of the mine to affiliates of the Washington Companies is off. In a press release Friday Dominion Diamonds said it had stopped negotiations around the proposed sale of certain Dominion assets, including the Ekati mine. Central to the termination of the proposed sale are $280 million surety bonds posted with the Government of the Northwest Territories. "It does raise some questions about what is going on and whether these surety bonds are as secure as people think they are," he said. He said those are much easier to cash and transfer compared to surety bonds.

Source: CBC News October 09, 2020 21:06 UTC