Diamonds in Canada
In October of 1998 Canada's first diamond mine (Ekati ™) opened, and in January of 2003, Canada's second diamond mine (Diavik ™) started production. Canada now is the third largest producer of diamonds, by value, in the world.
It was first suggested that diamonds might be found in Canada nearly 100 years prior. W.H. Hobbs, in 1899, postulated that the diamonds found in glacial deposits south of the Great Lakes originated in the area east of James Bay. Some time before 1920, a 33 carat diamond was discovered in surface sediments near Peterborough Ontario and in 1949, the first Canadian kimberlite was found in the Kirkland Lake area of Ontario. Despite these early indications of Canada's diamond potential, serious diamond exploration did not begin until the 1960's. By the end of the 1980's, kimberlites had been discovered in Labrador, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and on Somerset Island in the Northwest Territories; however, none had been proven economic.
In 1991, an indicator mineral and geophysical anomaly was drilled in the Slave Geological Province, about 250 kilometers north of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories and intersected kimberlite. When it was announced that 81 diamonds were recovered from a 59 kilogram sample from this pipe, Canada's largest staking rush began. Exploration in the following years resulted in the discovery of more than 200 kimberlite pipes and Canada's first two diamond mines, Ekati ™ and Diavik ™.
An early summary (1998) of kimberlites and exploration in Canada's north can be downloaded:
Kimberlites in the Slave Craton, Northwest Territories, Canada (Acrobat Format 8.1 MB)
Diamond exploration is ongoing in many regions of Canada, and the potential is high for the discovery of additional deposits.
It was first suggested that diamonds might be found in Canada nearly 100 years prior. W.H. Hobbs, in 1899, postulated that the diamonds found in glacial deposits south of the Great Lakes originated in the area east of James Bay. Some time before 1920, a 33 carat diamond was discovered in surface sediments near Peterborough Ontario and in 1949, the first Canadian kimberlite was found in the Kirkland Lake area of Ontario. Despite these early indications of Canada's diamond potential, serious diamond exploration did not begin until the 1960's. By the end of the 1980's, kimberlites had been discovered in Labrador, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and on Somerset Island in the Northwest Territories; however, none had been proven economic.
In 1991, an indicator mineral and geophysical anomaly was drilled in the Slave Geological Province, about 250 kilometers north of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories and intersected kimberlite. When it was announced that 81 diamonds were recovered from a 59 kilogram sample from this pipe, Canada's largest staking rush began. Exploration in the following years resulted in the discovery of more than 200 kimberlite pipes and Canada's first two diamond mines, Ekati ™ and Diavik ™.
An early summary (1998) of kimberlites and exploration in Canada's north can be downloaded:
Kimberlites in the Slave Craton, Northwest Territories, Canada (Acrobat Format 8.1 MB)
Diamond exploration is ongoing in many regions of Canada, and the potential is high for the discovery of additional deposits.
