Auctions tend to be grandiose by nature.
You’re buying things at an accelerated speed, with competition raising the stakes.
It’s not everyday that the average person gets to attend an auction where the sum of all parts exceeds $30 million.
“That’s the estimated value of these items,” says Tom Ormsby, Head of External & Corporate Affairs for De Beers Canada. “There’s interest from companies from all around the world. It’s not just big, heavy equipment though. We have everyday tools, trucks… There’s a fire truck for sale, it’s quite unique.”
The equipment is coming from the Snap Lake Mine, which closed down late 2015. The equipment has since been shipped out for the auction.
Ormsby, flying to Calgary before briefly coming back to Yellowknife, says that you don’t even have to show up to participate.
“It’s really interesting how they did it. You can do it in 2 ways: you can participate in person or you can do it online. When you show up to register, you can view the items ahead of time. But they’re doing it online to allow for international bidders to join in with the live bid.”
With auctions, the idea of ‘buyer beware’ comes to mind. You’re in the position of likely buying used equipment. Ormsby says that when it comes to this particular auction, with this Mine, that’s not the case.
“This Mine was working up until when it was shut down. You also have a whole lot of stuff that was untouched and unused because they were just shipped in and not used before the shutdown. So, in that sense, you could be saving lots because the equipment is brand new.”
Ormsby added: “The cost of moving these items to the North is also very expensive. You’re saving a lot of money by having it already in the North.”
Registering is done on July 31st, and the full event will take place on August 1st and 2nd at The Explorer Hotel.
The full item list can be found here.
