The territory enjoys vast geological resources including diamonds, gold, and natural gas.

In particular, NWT diamonds are touted as an ethical alternative that allays risks of supporting conflicts by purchasing blood diamonds.

However, their exploitation has raised environmental concerns, not least the potential havoc that a spill from tailings ponds could cause to unspoiled wilderness areas such as the Nahanni National Park Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Nahanni National Park Reserve however is far away from any current diamond mine in production....