As wildfires raged through the southern Northwest Territories during the summer of 2023, mines and exploration companies were among the many who put business aside and stepped up to help battle the blazes.

While exploration companies had to abandon their sites and even summer work plans, diamond mines remained open, but experienced staff shortages and supply chain disruptions due to evacuation orders, highway closures and air traffic restrictions.

Still, they freed up resources like helicopters, pumps and safety personnel to supplement fire crews and redeployed staff to man government firefighting efforts. 

Their efforts did not go unrecognized.

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At the territory’s annual awards gala celebrating excellence in northern mining, Ekati, Diavik and Gahcho Kué, along with Pine Point Mining and Gold Terra, were collectively awarded a MAX Award (MAX is a quasi-acronym for Mining and Exploration) for Environmental and Social Leadership. 

They were praised for their unflinching and significant contributions to support emergency efforts during the unprecedented emergency. 

“Yellowknife was evacuated in mid-August; that left tons of equipment and nobody to run it,” said Kenny Ruptash, president of the territory’s chamber of mines, at the awards ceremony.

“Diavik sent in workers to build fire breaks, while smaller companies donated everything from food to helicopter hours.” 

More than a half a million dollars from Rio Tinto and De Beers also flowed into relief efforts and emergency response.

“It’s not just these five companies, but these five made sacrifices that they didn’t need to make and made them because it was the right thing to do,” Ruptash said.