Cream-colored cans clue to mysterious diamond rush

Maxim Pellack’s doubters may have been legion, but that didn’t dissuade him from his belief that Prince Albert, 150 km north of here, and better known for its wheat fields, was in fact diamond country.

Who was Maxim Pellack? Some unknown geologist or mining promoter? Neither. In 1961, he was the owner of Paramount Motors, a car dealership. In that same year he also ignited the first diamond staking rush in the province.

According to records from that time, Pellack and his partner staked thousands of ha of ground in the Nisbet forest near Prince Albert after hearing reports that two diamonds of a quarter inch diameter were found in the gravel by a geologist.

Today, 27 years later, Uranerz Exploration and Mining, a West German mining company, Monopros Ltd., an affiliate of DeBeers Consolidated Mines which is the largest diamond miner in the world, and a handful of juniors have started the second Prince Albert diamond rush.

The second rush was launched by Monopros, the highly secretive North American exploration arm of DeBeer’s. Monopros, which has spent more than two years working in the area, has been rumored to be processing gravel near Nipawin, some 40 km northwest of Prince Albert. The processing work began after kimberlite was found in gravel.

“Speculation is that it’s in-situ,” a local geologist told The Northern Miner. “Rumors are that Uranerz has confirmed the presence of a pipe,” he added. Kimberlite is the type of rock for diamond deposits, first identified near the South African town of Kimberly — the birthplace of the world’s largest diamond mine, DeBeer’s Kimberlite is an ultramafic rock which usually forms discrete pipe structures intruding the earth’s upper crust.

The lure of diamonds is tough to shake off — especially amongst knowledgeable mining men. Despite the absolute lack of any diamond mining history in Canada, a poor exploration data base and even weaker exploration results — from what limited work has been done — Uranerz, Monopros and Claude Resources (TSE) have staked more than 250,000 acres in the area. And most of that staking was initiated on rumor.

“The staking has moved out from Sturgeon Lake and become a regional play,” Byron Henderson, an officer with Claude, told The Northern Miner. Claude controls more than 35,000 acres in the area which have been optioned to Corona Corp. (TSE). Corona is a big Canadian gold producer, with several senior geologists on staff with South African diamond experience under their belts.

Monopros, the company which began the rush, refused to comment on its activities when contacted by The Northern Miner.

Uranerz’s role in the rush appears baffling at first, until one looks at the company’s history. A well- known mining company involved with uranium exploration, development and mining, Uranerz has made forays into the precious metals field. The most recent being a small equity interest in the Star Lake gold mine, also in Saskatchewan.

However, a painful experience during the uranium heyday in Australia during the 1970s has made Uranerz diamond sensitive. During that time, Uranerz geologists were intrigued by several magnetic highs on a uranium property. The ground was eventually dropped, only to be picked up by CRA, a large Australian mining company. Those magnetic highs turned out to represent diamond-bearing kimberlite pipes — and the foundation of the giant Argyle diamond mine, one of the largest in the world. Uranerz doesn’t want to make that mistake twice.

Despite the presence of such major players in the area, precious little evidence of diamonds has been reported. Monopros’s processing of gravel from a gravel pit appears to have identified kimberlite, but the actual source remains a secret or possibly unknown. Even if found, it is still uncertain if the kimberlite is in fact diamond- bearing.

For all the unknowns, a certain mystique has enveloped the fields around Prince Albert. And one can’t help wondering if Maxim Pellack — wherever he may be — is secretly smiling.