News from our businesses and markets
De Beers Canada is investing $150,000 over the next five years in support of the De Beers Inspired Ice Carving Championship and the Long John Jamboree in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.
The $30,000 per year sponsorship provides long-term financial stability that will allow organizers to put together a full program that will attract some of the world’s top ice carvers.
“One of our goals at De Beers is to make long-lasting contributions to the communities in which we live and work – we call this building forever,” said Allan Rodel, Mine General Manager of Gahcho Kué Mine.
“This substantial contribution to the Long John Jamboree will secure the De Beers Inspired Ice Carving Championship for years to come, bringing attention to Yellowknife from across the world and celebrating the uniqueness and beauty that is life in the North.”
Long John Jamboree Vice President Garett Cochrane said: “This commitment from De Beers Canada allows us to continue to offer this great competition that people travel from all over the world to participate in for a long time to come. I would like to thank De Beers for their continued belief in our festival.”
“De Beers’ long-term commitment to sponsor the De Beers Inspired Ice Carving Competition at the Long John Jamboree is indicative of their community support and stewardship,” said Yellowknife Mayor Mark Heyck. “In bringing together talented teams from around the world to carve ice from our very own Great Slave Lake, this highly anticipated event reminds us of the tremendous beauty in ice and snow, and should not be missed.”
Applications for De Beers Inspired Ice 2018 are coming in from across Canada and internationally, including from two former Inspired Ice champions and a mixed team from Belgium and Sweden. Carving teams will be confirmed by the Long John Jamboree in January.
The program will also include the second annual High School Ice Carving Challenge in early March. Yellowknife media will also be put to the test with the second annual Media Carving Challenge on opening day of the Jamboree – March 23.
The 2018 De Beers Inspired Ice – NWT Ice Carving Championship begins on Thursday, March 22 and wrap up with judging during the afternoon of Saturday, March 24. The Long John Jamboree runs March 23-25, 2018.
De Beers has been operating in Canada since it carried out its first exploration programme in 1961. The Victor kimberlite cluster discovery in 1987 by De Beers Exploration was the first economic diamond discovery in Canada. In 2016, De Beers with its joint venture partner, Mountain Province Diamonds, opened the Gahcho Kué diamond mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories, the largest new diamond mine to open in more than a decade.