Project stamps province on diamond map.

Canada arrived on the world diamond scene a scant decade ago yet its potential now rivals the likes of South Africa, Botswana and Siberia. Particularly intriguing is a kimberlite field just 65 kilometres from Prince Albert that may be a dream come true for diamond mining companies.

Operating within a stable political and economic climate is of prime concern to mining companies and their investors. The bonus of this area is that workers and equipment would have a short commute to a massive, year-round mine.

De Beers Canada Corporation President Richard Molyneux believes the deposit presents the opportunity for a high-volume, low-cost mine. "Just their size makes them well-timed and there could be an opportunity to do a different type of mining without the complications of access and really extreme environmental and permitting hassles that we face in the Northwest Territories."

De Beers Canada Exploration Inc. (42.25%) has partnered with Kensington Resources Ltd. (42.25%), Cameco Corporation (5.5%) and UEM Inc. (carried 10%) on the Fort a la Corne Joint Venture Diamond Project (FALC). Exploration at the world's largest diamond-bearing cluster has continued almost non-stop since 1988.

Kensington's Project Manager Brent Jellicoe says they are working on four priority kimberlite bodies with a view to doing more evaluation of diamond content in the coming year.

"Several of these bodies are included in the biggest diamond kimberlites in the world. In terms of tonnage, this means you can mine something of a much lower grade because you're pushing so much material through a mill," Jellicoe says. "Though, it takes a lot of work, a lot of money, and a lot of drillholes."

The project's findings thus far represent another of FALC's significant attributes--good potential for large, high quality diamonds that could command a premium in the retail market. Jellicoe likes to call these stones 'the mine-makers.'

"We have to remove at least 100 metres of overburden before we can get to the interesting stuff," Jellicoe points out. "The economics depend not just on the grade and the value of the stones, but also on how much of it there is."

FALC will create a small environmental footprint. Existing logging tracks are frequently used and many drilling sites are in open country, plus the camp stands directly atop the kimberlite in the same location since the early days of the project. To this point the project's main tools have been water, environmentally friendly clays and drill bits.

Chance plays a major factor in recovery of diamonds, along with a healthy dose of common sense and good geology. Diamonds are randomly distributed throughout the kimberlite, so a large hole may come up empty while a small hole next to it could produce a nice stone.

"That's what happened this past winter when a clear, high quality macrodiamond weighing 0.77 carats was encountered while splitting core in the Joint Venture warehouse in Saskatoon," Jellicoe says. "It is essential to appreciate how extremely rare it is to find such a large stone of such quality in drillcore, and how this is a good indication of the tremendous diamond potential at FALC.

The push is now on to review diamond results from the 2003 drilling program so the Joint Venture partners can determine where to focus the location of larger holes.--S.C.