Canada's diamond industry set to be world's third largest

[ConcernedCanuk]

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Canada's diamond industry set to be world's third largest

By WENDY STUECK
MINING REPORTER
Wednesday, January 14, 2004

VANCOUVER -- With two mines in production and at least another two in the wings, Canada is set to become the world's third-biggest diamond producer by value, trailing only Russia and Botswana, a Statistics Canada report says.

Canada's rise to prominence on the diamond scene has been notable not only for its speed -- diamonds were first discovered in here in 1991 -- but also for the quality of Canadian gems, the report says. It was commissioned because, the agency said, diamonds are adding new lustre to the economy and the impact will be felt for years as mines reach peak production.

"Not only is Canada rich in diamonds, it is rich in high-quality diamonds," says the report, released yesterday. "From 1998 to 2002, roughly 13.8 million carats have been mined, collectively worth $2.8-billion. This is roughly a 1.5-kilogram bag of ice each day for five years, with each bag worth $1.5-million."

/snip/

Canadian rough diamonds -- assessed for size, clarity and colour -- are commanding high prices, the report says. In 2001, when more than 3.3 million carats of diamonds were mined in Canada, the average price per carat for a Canadian-mined diamond was $228, behind the value of diamonds mined in Namibia, where the average price per carat surpassed $400, and in Angola, where the price was slightly higher than Canadian-mined diamonds.



This is good, sort of - -

Just worries me a bit cuz one of our neighbours already has eyes on our Hydro, Water, and omg - ya, . . OIL and Natural Gas.

BUT - it looks like a better investment than Beef !

[DarkPhenyx]

1. Who cares. It's just Canada. not like it's a country or anything.

Just kidding. That was a humor.


Seriously though. There are going to be up and down sides for Canada with this boom in diamonds. Lots of environmental concerns, but...

If I do recall correctly, from watching the Discovery Channel, the mines aren't owned by de'Beers either. That is a serious plus in my book.

[DoYouEverWonder]

2. Diamonds are an overrated

and relatively common gem stone. Glad to see DeBeers doesn't have their grubby little hands in there, at least not yet. I just hope people wake up to the fact the diamonds are not a girl's best friend or any of the other crap that DeBeers has shoved down our throats for decades.

[MetaTrope]

3. Not all good news

DeBeers is set to begin mining quite soon.

[ConcernedCanuk]

5. Hmm . . . DeBeers is "gettin a grip" on our North West Territories (NWT)

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. I see they have another project in the same area.

I don't know anything about DeBeers, but I take from previous posters that they are not a responsible Corporation ?

Anyway, they have nice pics of our Frozen North here !



Dress warm if'n ya wanna work up there !

[IADEMO2004]

4. Great new energy resource

You can burn them like very low sulfur coal. Don't let Bush know.

[Tommy_Douglas]

6. Prospecting is complete in Saskatchewan...

The figure the diamond field is larger then the one discovered in South Africa way back in the day. They're currently just looking for the ideal place for mine sites.

DeBeers supposedly is pushing hard to get into the Canadian diamond biz and with Paul Martin in power I'm not entirely sure it won't happen. Oh how I hate DeBeers. I wish Cameco would get involved in diamonds. They do Gold and Uranium and are one of the best "big" companies an individual could hope to work for.

[J B]

7. Hmm, Canada made this huge push for 'ethical' diamonds..

Now I understand why....

[iverglas]

8. that was a joke, right?

While Canada's foreign policy is not immune to infection by domestic economic concerns, I think it is going a little far to say that the potential market for Cdn diamond exports was a determining factor in Canada's interest in the horrors that are at the root of the trade in blood diamonds.

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[ozone_man]

9. Yup, Canada has the resources that we want

to feed our mad capitalist machine. My all time favorite, evil plan is the one where they dam up James Bay and divert the fresh water to the South Western U.S. Of course our own Great Lakes residents have something to worry about as well. Imagine what a disruption it would cause to the salt pump that feeds the Atlantic ocean.

http://home18.inet.tele.dk/shakti/course2/case003/kc03background.html

Just worries me a bit cuz one of our neighbours already has eyes on our Hydro, Water, and omg - ya, . . OIL and Natural Gas.