January 17, 2003

News Release: Diavik Diamonds Project Update

DDMI is pleased to report that construction of the Diavik Diamond Mine at Lac de Gras is nearing completion within project schedule and budget.

Overburden removal from the Diavik A154 open pit mine proceeded satisfactorily during the fourth quarter. Commissioning trials of the Processing and Recovery Plants recommenced during the last week of November and continued during the month of December on an intermittent basis on low-grade mineralization taken from the contact zones at the top of the A154 South ore body. Operating rates continued to ramp up in line with planned levels during December as increasing quantities of feed become available to the Processing Plant. As diamonds have been recovered at the Lac de Gras operations, they were forwarded to the Diavik Production Splitting Facility in Yellowknife for cleaning and preparation for valuation for royalty purposes. A limited quantity of the diamonds recovered during December underwent valuation for Government of Canada royalty purposes and are expected to be forwarded to the Joint Venture Participants, DDMI and Aber Diamond Corporation by the end of January.

Diavik Diamond Mines Inc. has become a signatory of the Canadian Voluntary Code of Conduct for Authenticating Canadian diamonds. The implementation of the Kimberley Process by the Canadian Government commenced 1 January 2003. Under the Kimberley Process, the Government of Canada certifies that diamonds exported from Canada do not contain conflict diamonds as recognized in the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 55/56 (2000). The Kimberley Process will further reinforce DDMI's ability to certify the Canadian origin of its diamonds.

Cumulative project expenditures to December 31 were $C1.217 billion. Forecast Project costs continue to be within budget with an expected cost of $C1.25 billion following completion.

Health, Safety & Environment

DDMI is in compliance with all permits and licenses. There were no lost time injuries during the fourth quarter. Safety performance is expressed in terms of the Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) - the rate of occurrence of lost time injuries per 200,000 hours of work. DDMI experienced a zero LTIFR during the quarter and an LTIFR of 0.38 for the full year 2002. As of year end, workers on the project had achieved 1.3 million hours of injury free work.

Employment, Business Opportunities & Training

The total on-site workforce peaked at approximately 800 workers during the quarter. Northern participation to date during the multi-year construction phase of the project is approximately 44 per cent.

As part of DDMI's continued efforts to provide business and employment opportunities to the North, DDMI has awarded mining operations contracts to a number of Aboriginal and Northern companies including Denesoline Western Explosives (explosive), Exploration Medical Services (medical services), G&G Expediting (offsite logistics), Tli Cho Logistics (site services), Kingland Ford Sales Ltd. (light vehicle maintenance), I&D Management Services Ltd. (mine equipment operators), SecureCheck (security services), Fountain Tire Mine Services Ltd. (tire management), A&A Technical Services (geochem), Ollerhead & Associates Ltd. (land survey), RTL Robinson Enterprises (trucking services) and Tli Cho Landtran (trucking services).

In December, DDMI announced a training partnership with global engineering firm Hatch Associates. Under the new Young Engineers for Tomorrow program, DDMI and Hatch Associates will encourage and support northerners to pursue professional engineering careers. Students who qualify will be eligible for financial support at selected Canadian universities offering co-op engineering programs. While working towards engineering degree certification, participants will have the opportunity to gain relevant work experience and exposure in various works settings at Diavik and within Hatch's organization across Canada.

The Diavik Diamonds Project is an unincorporated joint venture between Diavik Diamond Mines Inc. (60%) and Aber Diamond Mines Ltd. (40%). Both companies are headquartered in Yellowknife. DDMI is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto plc of London, England, and Aber Diamond Mines Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Aber Diamond Corporation of Toronto, Ontario. For further information see the attached Backgrounder. DIAVIK DIAMONDS PROJECT - BACKGROUNDER

Project Owners

The Diavik Diamonds Project is an unincorporated joint venture between Diavik Diamond Mines Inc. (DDMI 60%) and Aber Diamond Mines Ltd. (40%). DDMI is headquartered in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto plc of London, England. Aber Diamond Mines Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Aber Diamond Corporation (formerly Aber Resources Ltd.) of Toronto, Ontario. The two joint venture participants retain the right to market independently their respective share of the diamonds to be produced from the Diavik Diamond Mine. DDMI is the manager of the project.

Diavik At A Glance

- Estimated diluted mineable reserves - 27.1 million tonnes at 3.9 carats/tonne (diluted) from four ore bodies called A154S, A154N, A418, and A21

- Ore Production - 1.5 million tonnes annually

- Annual Diamond Production - peaks at approximately 7 million carats

- Mine Life - 20 years

- Project Capital Cost - C$1.3 billion

- Total Employment - approximately 500 employee and contract workers

- Northern Workforce - approximately 300 at start-up

- Annual Mine Purchasing - C$100 million

- Projected start of diamond production - January 2003

Project Description

The Diavik Diamonds Project is located on a 20 square kilometre island in Lac de Gras, approximately 300 kilometres by air northeast of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. DDMI will mine four diamond ore bodies, called kimberlite pipes, over a 20-year mine life, using a workforce of approximately 450. The pipes are small compared to the world average, but they contain a higher than average content of attractive, high quality and readily marketable diamonds.

The Diavik plan calls for a two-year ramp-up period after which annual kimberlite processing is expected to reach 1.5 million tonnes and diamond production is anticipated to peak at approximately seven million carats per annum. It is expected that the Diavik mine will produce approximately 107 million carats of diamonds over mine life.

Mining will be by a combination of open pit and, where economically feasible, underground mining methods. DDMI plans to build three water diversion structures ('dikes') from shore to surround the four diamond-bearing pipes to enable mining to occur.

Construction of the first dike around the two A154 pipes began in 2001, enabling dewatering and overburden removal in the second half 2002. Construction of physical plant - including the maintenance shop, accommodations complex, power generation facility, and processing plant - also began in 2001 and was virtually complete by the end of 2002.

Project Milestones

- 1994-1995 - Pipes A-21, A154-South, A154-North & A418 are discovered

- 1994-1997 - Public consultations, environmental and other baseline studies conducted

- 1998-1999 - Formal environmental assessment review process conducted

- November 1999 - Federal Government approves project for permitting and licensing

- August 2000 - All required permits and approvals in place

- December 2000 - Decision is taken to proceed with construction

- September 2002 - Dike dewatering completed and pre-stripping of the A154 pit commences

- November 2002 - 1 million consecutive hours worked without a lost time injury

- December 2002 - First Diavik diamonds recovered

- January 2003 - Anticipated commencement of diamond production

Environmental and Socio-Economic Aspects

DDMI is committed to conducting its operations (from construction to closure) to achieve a high standard of environmental quality and protection, in particular for caribou and water. This commitment has been formalized through a suite of regulatory requirements as well as an Environmental Agreement concluded between DDMI, Aboriginal groups and federal and territorial governments in March 2000.

DDMI is also committed to providing maximum employment opportunities to residents of the Northwest Territories and the West Kitikmeot region of Nunavut, and business opportunities to Northern companies. These commitments to provide Northern training, employment, and business opportunities have been formalized through the Diavik Socio-Economic

Monitoring Agreement c