FACTS ‘N’ FIGURES — Diamonds in Canada

The discovery, in late 1991, of a diamond-bearing kimberlite of apparent economic potential at Point Lake, near Lac de Gras, N.W.T., initiated a staking rush of unprecedented magnitude, mostly in the Northwest Territories, Alberta and Saskatchewan. Within a short period of time, a large number of companies were exploring for diamonds in many parts of Canada.

However, the diamondiferous kimberlite at Point Lake was not the first diamond discovery in Canada. Some time before 1920, a loose 33-carat diamond was found during the excavation of a railway near Peterborough, Ont. That diamond, however, was rough, broken and of little value as a gem.

During the 1960s, small diamonds were twice reported to have been found in glacial gravels east of Prince Albert, Sask. Some believed these reports to be hoaxes, but, since 1988, more than 40 kimberlite pipes have been found in that area, near Fort la Corne. The small diamonds that were found in the 1960s may have been indicator minerals for the Fort la Corne kimberlite pipes.

South African firm De Beers Consolidated Mines began exploring for diamonds in Canada about that time, and, along with other companies, discovered diamonds pipes in various locations, chiefly in Ontario and Quebec, but also on Somerset Island in the Arctic. None of these pipes, however, appears to have diamond contents that are of ore grade.

In 1971, the Jarvi diamond, a loose 0.25-carat gem-quality diamond, was found in glacial gravels in an esker near Timmins, Ont. In recent years, some very small diamonds have been found in glacial and stream gravels in Alberta.

However, their sources are unknown. They could have been carried south for many hundreds of kilometers by glaciers, but they also could have come from more local kimberlite intrusions.

Between 1993 and 1997, $644 million was spent on diamond exploration in Canada. In 1994, there were 102 companies exploring for diamonds in this country, though that number dropped to 61 in 1995. In each of 1996 and 1997, about 50 companies were active in diamond exploration.

In the past five years, at least 15 diamond deposits with mining potential have been discovered in Canada, and as many as four projects could reach production in the next few years. With the high level of exploration currently being conducted here, particularly in the Northwest Territories, Canada appears destined to become one of the world’s foremost diamond producers.

The preceding is an excerpt from “Overview of Trends in Canadian Mineral Exploration 1997,” published by Natural Resources Canada.