Diamond players coy about spending — NWT survey reveals

Exploration expenditures in the Northwest Territories are expected to surpass $52 million this year, according to the annual survey of the N.W.T. Chamber of Mines.

This level easily surpasses the $38.1 million estimated to have been spent in 1992.

For the past five years, the chamber has surveyed the exploration industry to monitor its contribution to the northern economy. This year, however, only 54 of the 120 companies contacted replied, with diamond companies forming the bulk of those that did not. At least two major diamond developers did not reveal their exploration programs, resulting in conservative estimates. The main reasons for the increase in exploration are diamonds and base metals. Diamond properties are still being staked in the Territoriies, adding to the more than 31 million acres staked to date. Renewed interest in base metals is attributed to proposals to build a road linking many undeveloped deposits to a port on the Arctic coast.