Liquidators are offering the Renard diamond mine in Canada for sale after a potential buyer declined to complete the purchase it began last year with the goal of turning it into a lithium deposit.
Court-appointed monitor Deloitte Restructuring and TCL Asset Group will sell all property belonging to Renard owner Stornoway, TCL said Tuesday. The miner put the deposit up for sale twice between 2019 and 2023 as a result of insolvency related to Covid-19 and the weak diamond market. Renard, which has been inactive recently, is the only mine situated in Quebec.
TCL will liquidate the facility through private negotiated sales over the next six months. It will also hold an online sale starting in August of this year, which will include millions of dollars worth of stock. Among the assets are underground substations, pumping stations, mine hoists, inventory of wire and cable, and related underground machinery and equipment.
“This sale is a highly significant event for the underground mining industry, particularly for those involved in the diamond-recovery process, as assets related to this final stage of production rarely become available on the open market,” said TCL CEO Terrance Jacobs.
In 2024, Winsome Resources agreed to acquire Renard, intending to transform it into a processing facility for its Adina Lithium project. However, unless market conditions improve, Winsome will be unable to move forward with the existing terms by August 2025, it reported.
Winsome is currently liaising with Stornoway, and Quebec and Canadian government representatives to explore potential future opportunities. As long as Stornoway doesn’t sell or rehabilitate Renard, Winsome might reconsider the purchase after August, it added.
Image: Rough diamonds from the Renard mine. (Stornoway Diamonds)
