Stornoway Diamonds Inc. says it is suspending operations at its Renard mine in northern Quebec.
The Montreal-based diamond company says 75 of the 500 workers will stay on board to maintain the mine’s assets and facilitate a return to normal operations.
That leaves some 425 workers temporarily laid off from the mine, which sits about 700 kilometres north of Quebec City as the crow flies.
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The 37-year-old company attributes the shutdown to growing uncertainty around global diamond prices.
The price of rough diamonds — unpolished, uncut stones — has plummeted over the past 18 months, falling by nearly a third since March 2022 to lows not seen in years as post-pandemic consumers steer clear of new luxury goods.
Stornoway says it has begun to place itself under the protection of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act in order to restructure its business and turn its finances around.