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Diamonds – Mining, Lab-Grown and Conflict/Blood

Quebec gets first diamond mine as premier pushes north development plan relaunch – by Patrice Bergeron (Brandon Sun – July 10, 2014)

http://www.brandonsun.com/

The Canadian Press – EEYOU ISTCHEE JAMES BAY, Que. – Liberal Premier Philippe Couillard trumpeted Quebec’s reinvigorated northern development plan Thursday during a ground-breaking ceremony for province’s first diamond mine, a $1-billion project that he said shows Quebec is “open for business again.”

Developed by Stornoway Diamond Corp. (TSX:SWY), the operation was formally launched with a ceremony in a remote area 350 kilometres north of Chibougamau, nestled in the Otish Mountains in Cree territory.

Once mining gets underway, the mine is expected to make Quebec the sixth-largest producer of diamonds in the world.
The go-ahead comes as Stornoway secured $946 million in funding for its Renard mine earlier this week with Investissement Quebec and the Caisse de depot et placement, Quebec’s largest pension fund manager, both participating in the financing.

The province has a 29 per cent investment in the project, which Economic Development Minister Jacques Daoust says will translate into $1 billion in taxes and interest for the province.

“It’s a clear signal of the relaunch of the Plan Nord,” Couillard said Thursday, keeping with an election promise to return the focus to developing northern Quebec.

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Founder of Canada’s first diamond mine Fipke sells remaining Ekati stake – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – July 9, 2014)

http://www.miningweekly.com/page/americas-home

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Multimillionaire Canadian diamond magnate Charles ‘Chuck’ Fipke has agreed to sell his remaining stake in Canada’s first diamond mine, the Ekati mine in the Northwest Territories, for $67-million to majority owner Dominion Diamond Corp.

Having discovered diamonds around Lac de Gras, in Canada’s Northwest Territories in the 1970s, Fipke focused his life’s work on finding the precious gems in Canada’s far north. A joint venture (JV) between Fipke’s Dia Met Minerals and BHP Utah in the 1980s and 1990s, climaxed in establishing the Ekati mine in 1998, with Fipke and prospecting partner Dr Stewart Blusson each holding a 10% interest in the mine.

Toronto-based Dominion, which last year bought out diversified miner BHP Billiton’s stake in Ekati for $553-million, said the sale would end Fipke’s financial involvement in the mine.

“Although the sale by Chuck Fipke of his interest in the Ekati project ends his financial involvement with Canada’s first diamond mine, his contribution to its discovery and success goes well beyond that. The history of Canadian mining is full of stories of accidents of fate leading to discoveries, but the discovery of diamonds in the Slave Geological Province is a story of years of dedicated technical work led by a focused technical expert with unwavering belief in the outcome,” Dominion chairperson and CEO Robert Gannicott said.

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Quebec’s Renard diamond mine is a glimmer of hope for slowing industry – by Anna Nicolaou (Globe and Mail – July 7, 2014)

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

Something sparkly has caught Quebec’s eye. Nearly a decade after the most precious form of carbon was found in the northern mountains of Quebec, the first diamond mine in Quebec is opening in July. Stornoway Diamond Corp.’s Renard mine, nestled near the Otish Mountains, is projected to produce 1.5 to 2 million carats of diamonds a year.

The opening of Renard comes at a convenient time: Globally, demand for diamonds greatly exceeds supply, largely because few new mines have been discovered recently.

“There’s Renard in Quebec, DeBeers in the Northwest Territories and one pipe in Russia, that’s about it,” said Edward Sterck, diamond analyst at BMO Capital Markets. “And these are not of the same world-class scale as DeBeers in Botswana and Russia, which are now very old and in decline, so… Supply is incredibly limited.”

Diamond prices have crept higher over the past few years as demand flourishes, particularly in emerging markets such as India and China, where the growing middle class seeks luxury goods.

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Editorial: Diamonds a lodestar in Canadian mining firmament – by John Cumming (Northern Miner – April 23, 2014)

The Northern Miner, first published in 1915, during the Cobalt Silver Rush, is considered Canada’s leading authority on the mining industry. Editor John Cumming MSc (Geol) is one of the country’s most well respected mining journalists.  jcumming@northernminer.com

While much of the global mining industry has been limping along under sagging commodities prices and looming oversupply, one of the brightest spots has been the Canadian diamond-mining industry, which has weathered its wild, rocky youth and settled into its role as a reliable discoverer, developer and miner of top-quality diamonds.

It remains one of the most difficult, long-shot tasks in mining: finding and developing an economic diamond deposit. And it takes a special kind of investor to embrace diamond miners’ extreme risk–reward ratios and extra-long time horizons. But taking a look across Canada, we see all kinds of positive developments in the next generation of diamond companies and their assets.

This month Dominion Diamond — formerly Harry Winston Diamond — is heading into its second year as owner and operator of the prized Ekati open-pit and underground diamond mine in the Northwest Territories, picked up for US$553 million from BHP Billiton on April 10, 2013.

On a 100% basis, Ekati is home to 18.8 million carats in reserves in four pipes, plus an eye-popping 127 million carats in the measured and indicated category and 19 million carats in the inferred category, all in eight pipes.

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Stornoway lands $944M financing agreement to build Renard diamond mine – by Alisha Hiyate (Mining Markets – April 10, 2014)

http://www.miningmarkets.ca/

Stornoway Diamond (TSX: SWY) has lined up a $944-million financing deal to build its Renard diamond mine in Quebec. The binding agreement signed with three parties constitutes the largest ever project financing package for a publicly listed diamond company.

The complex deal involves debt, equity and streaming components, and involves funding from the Quebec government, a private equity firm, an institutional fund, and an equipment manufacturer. The company expects to start construction in June, plant commissioning in the third quarter of 2016, and commercial production in the second quarter of 2017.

Private equity firm Orion Co-Investments will provide US$360 million (C$396 million): US$110-million in equity financing; US$200 million for a 16% streaming interest; and US$50 million in a 7-year, unsecured convertible loan with an interest rate of 6.25%.

Resources Quebec, a subsidiary of provincial agency Investissement Québec, will provide $220 million: $100 million in equity financing; $100 million in a 10-year senior secured loan at an interest rate of prime plus 4.75%; and another $20 million in a senior secured loan for credit overrun facilities.

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Stornoway stocks rise on confirming ‘advanced’ financing discussions – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – March 27, 2014)

http://www.miningweekly.com/page/americas-home

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The proponent of Quebec’s only diamond mine, Stornoway Diamond Corp, has conceded that it was in advanced negotiations with a number of parties regarding a comprehensive financing plan for its Renard diamond project, located in north-central Quebec, sending its shares up by as much as C$0.16 apiece on Thursday.

Despite the company affirming that it did not generally respond to rumours or media speculation, Stornoway said that management was encouraged with progress made in discussions to date.

It did, however, note that the outcome of such discussions was uncertain and subject to further negotiation and executing binding term sheets and definitive agreements, and receiving all applicable regulatory, shareholder and other approvals.

“There is no assurance that any transaction will result from these discussions, or as to the timing, structure or terms of any transaction (which may include any combination of debt, equity, forward sale of diamonds and other forms of financing) and no further comment will be forthcoming unless the situation so warrants,” Stornoway said in a statement.

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Water from a stone: Tiny diamond contains secrets of Earth’s mantle – by Tu Thanh Ha (Globe and Mail – March 13, 2014)

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

A pea-sized diamond picked up a decade ago by a Brazilian prospector has unlocked evidence that, hundreds of kilometres under our feet, Earth’s mantle holds as much water as all of our planet’s oceans.

The discovery by a University of Alberta team bolsters theories about the existence of a water-saturated zone between the Earth’s rocky layers that would explain volcanic activities and the interaction of tectonic plates.

The diamond’s route from the alluvial plains of Brazil’s Mato Grosso province to the University of Alberta’s labs is a tale blending an exotic setting with reminders of Jules Verne’s classic science fantasy of a sea in the centre of Earth. The research, published this week in the journal Nature, confirms the terrestrial existence of ringwoodite, a high-pressure form of a common silicate.

What was most striking about the ringwoodite discovery, by a team led by University of Alberta professor Graham Pearson, was that 1.5 per cent of it was water, bound chemically to the mineral. Based on projections of how much ringwoodite scientists believe is in the Transition Zone, between 410 and 670 kilometres down, Dr. Pearson estimated that it contains “a very, very large amount of water.”

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Engineer mines industry experience for first book – by Morgan Ian Adams (Enterprise-Bulletin – March 13, 2014)

http://www.theenterprisebulletin.com/

COLLINGWOOD — Engineer Tom McCavour has tapped into a lifetime of experiences in the mining industry to craft his first book. McCavour launched his book, Bloody Diamonds, in the third floor community room of the municipal building at Ste. Marie and Simcoe in November.

Bloody Diamonds follows the stories of Sarah and and Sam from childhood through to adulthood, and their experiences with the diamond mining industry in Africa and Canada’s north.

Sam escapes the civil war in Sierra Leone and is employed as a geologist by a South African diamond mining company, while Sarah is an Inuit and an environmentalist; while they meet as adversaries in the Northwest Territories, the two fall in love.

McCavour is a retired engineer whose career took him to Canada’s northern territories and to Africa. His work up north led to the development of the Diavik diamond mine in the North Slave Region of the Northwest Territories.

The mining aspect of his book “came naturally,” said McCavour, 83. “But it took a lot of (work) to make it chronologically and geographically correct.”

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Patience, luck are key to diamond mining in Saskatchewan (CBC News Saskatchewan – January 20, 2014)

http://www.cbc.ca/sask/

It has been 25 years since diamonds were first discovered in Saskatchewan

Twenty-five years after deposits of diamonds were identified in Saskatchewan’s north, people in the mining business say it will take patience, and some luck, to create a viable diamond industry in the province. One of the companies that is looking for diamonds is North Arrows Minerals.

“There is a real process involved and it requires patience, and persistence,” company president Ken Armstrong told CBC News, noting the normal progression, if all goes well, to a functioning mine is 15 years.

“We had some good targets,” Armstrong said of their most recent exploration work. “We’re hoping there’d be kimberlite, and there is. We were hoping there’d be diamonds, there’s diamonds. So now we need to keep on going at it and do more work to try and expand it and see if there’s size to the body and if the grade might be there, and ultimately there’s a whole bunch more work just to get to the point to determine if the diamonds have a value or not.”

Another company, Shore Gold, has been working on its Fort-a-la-Corne site, east of Prince Albert, since 1995.

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De Beers starts environmental studies at Attawapiskat mine – (CBC News Sudbury – January 16, 2014)

http://www.cbc.ca/sudbury/

De Beers is moving ahead with environmental studies on expanding its diamond mine in Attawapiskat.

Company spokesman Tom Ormsby said this is still early days, but he said there have been preliminary discussions with the Cree community about what this project, called the “Tango” extension would mean.

“We’re committed to staying the course here with the community and hopefully extending this mine.” Ormsby said De Beers and Attawapiskat appear to have moved past tensions related to roadblocks of the existing Victor mine from last winter.

He says if the diamond mining company goes ahead with this new project, there could be a re-negotiating of the impact benefit agreement with the James Bay first nation.

“We’re not there yet. We hope to make this go, but there’s still some hurdles we need to accomplish to get various approvals and the final data to say ‘Yes, this is going to be economic’,” Ormsby said.

If all goes well, he said, mining at the Tango site near Attawapiskat would begin in 2018.

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Israeli billionaire Steinmetz sues campaigners Global Witness (Reuters India – December 16, 2013)

http://in.reuters.com/

LONDON – Dec 16 (Reuters) – Israeli billionaire Beny Steinmetz and three others working with the mining arm of his business empire, BSG Resources, have sued campaign group Global Witness, claiming damages for what they say are breaches of their human and data protection rights.

BSG Resources (BSGR) is battling for the right to develop half of the Simandou deposit in Guinea, one of the world’s largest untapped iron ore resources.

The government of Guinea, which is running a review of mining contracts allocated by previous administrations, says BSGR bribed officials to win a 2008 licence to develop the promising deposit. Global Witness, which campaigns for transparency in the resources industry, has on several occasions linked BSGR to corruption allegations.

BSGR denies it paid bribes for its Simandou concession and has criticised the contract review, which it says is designed to allow Guinea to renege on its obligations. It has also accused international advisers working directly and indirectly with the Guinean government, including financier and philanthropist George Soros, of orchestrating a smear campaign against it.

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NEWS RELEASE: Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board Approves Gahcho Kué Pioneer Land Use Permit

TORONTO, NEW YORK AND YELLOWKNIFE, NT, Dec. 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ – De Beers Canada Inc. and Mountain Province Diamonds (TSX: MPV, NYSE MKT: MDM) are pleased to announce that the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board has approved a pioneer Land Use Permit for the Gahcho Kué diamond mine. The pioneer Land Use Permit allows land-based site works to commence in preparation for deliveries planned for the 2014 winter road season.

Tony Guthrie, CEO of De Beers Canada, commented: “De Beers, as the Operator of the Gahcho Kué Project, extends its appreciation to the Mackenzie Land and Water Board for the efficient processing of the pioneer Land Use Permit application. Approval of the permit allows Gahcho Kué to position itself for the start of full construction pending the receipt of the full Land Use Permit and Water License expected in 2014.

The construction and operational phases of Gahcho Kué will benefit the Canadian economy and local communities, creating new business and employment opportunities for residents of the Northwest Territories and continuing to build Canada’s position as a premier diamond producer.”

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Canadian Diamond Explorer Sees Irish Billionaire Backing – by Christopher Donville (Bloomberg News – November 25, 2013)

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. (MPV), a partner with De Beers in the Gahcho Kue project in northern Canada, plans to raise C$125 million ($119 million) in a rights offering backed by Irish billionaire Dermot Desmond.

The Toronto-based company’s biggest shareholder will ensure the offering in the first quarter is fully subscribed by buying rights not taken up by other investors, Chief Executive Officer Patrick Evans said in a telephone interview. Mountain Province, which needs the money for its 49 percent share of the cost of building the proposed diamond mine, raised C$47 million in an offering a year ago.

“He backstopped that one and will backstop the next one as well,” the 58-year-old Evans said, adding that Desmond has owned Mountain Province shares for 17 years. “I don’t know that he is as forthcoming and generous with all his businesses, but he certainly is with ours.”

Mountain Province’s financing and plans for mine construction at Gahcho Kue, 400 kilometers (250 miles) south of the Arctic Circle, come amid renewed investor interest in diamond projects as a recovering global economy boosts demand for engagement rings and other jewelry in the U.S. and emerging-market countries such as China and India.

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Quebec, Stornoway talk local diamond processing spinoffs – by Nicolas Van Praet (National Post – November 05, 2013)

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

MONTREAL – In a small office in downtown Montreal, a band of Armenian-raised gem cutters is chomping at the bit to get their hands on Quebec-made diamonds.

Whether they get their way depends on how hard the Parti Québécois government pushes for a Quebec-based secondary sector spun off from mining — and how much the miners push back. It’s a situation that highlights a familiar predicament in Canada: We’re really good at pulling commodities from the ground. But processing them here is often a complex negotiation that ends in failure.

Melisende Diamonds Ltd. is a six-person diamond polishing crew operating on Montreal’s precious-metal row on Cathcart Street. They were part of a group of about 60 Armenians who settled in Yellowknife when the government of the NorthWest Territories hatched the territory’s diamond processing industry by mandating the two diamond producers active there to set aside 10% of their output for local cutting and polishing.

The effort fizzled out. Of four diamond processing plants started in Yellowknife, only one is still operating. And so the Melisende workers came to Montreal.

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Stornoway’s Renard mine: Quebec’s diamond in the rough looks to make history – by Nicolas Van Praet (National Post – November 2, 2013)

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

NEAR THE OTISH MOUNTAINS, QUE. – Matt Manson remembers being cold. And thinking about divine retribution.

It was November 2006 and the wounds were still raw from Stornoway Diamond Corp.’s unsolicited takeover of Ashton Mining, part of a $200-million play that also saw Stornoway buy Contact Diamond. As president of the newly consolidated company, Mr. Manson had just finished visiting its flagship asset — the Renard diamond project in northern Quebec — for the first time when a snowstorm closed in.

He jumped into a helicopter and the pilot flew him at low altitude two hours south to Témiscamie, an aircraft refuelling and logistics station with no permanent residents. Huddled against the side of a shed and waiting for a truck to take him to Chibougamau, he found himself completely alone.

“I’m sitting there, shivering away against the wall, getting covered in snow for about three hours and thinking ‘Here’s my punishment’,” recalls Mr. Manson, now Stornoway’s president and chief executive. “‘We went hostile and now I’m being punished. The gods were paying me [back]’.”

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