De Beers rep visits Alberta

A recent rare courtesy call by a representative of highly-secretive diamond merchant De Beers to Alberta has the local mining community buzzing, but not much more enlightened about De Beers’ plans for the province.

However, the visit could open the door to a closer association between De Beers and the local Alberta Chamber of Resources (ACR), says a chamber representative.

Andrew Lamont, De Beers’ communication head for North America and Africa, met with ACR executive director Don Currie. He also talked with Alberta Department of Energy representatives, who administer registered claims in the province.

In 1990, De Beers Consolidated staked 6,000 sq. km in northern Alberta, guaranteed with a $6-million deposit.

At about the same time Lamont was in Edmonton, a contingent from De Beers was also in Yellowknife, N.W.T., where rumors have circulated that the company has made a discovery. Many observers say a 1991 diamond discovery north of Yellowknife by Dia Met Minerals (VSE) and BHP Minerals Canada could develop into Canada’s first diamond mine.

Currie acknowledged that the ACR has been watching with great interest the growing diamond exploration scene during the past couple of years in Alberta and the Northwest Territories. Their correspondence with De Beers began two years ago.

“The South African Chamber of Mines is exceedingly powerful,” said Currie. (De Beers is a key member of that Chamber.) “It’s conceivable that they might take some interest in our organization.”

Lamont said De Beers is taking a long-term approach to exploration in Alberta. According to Currie, Lamont spent considerable time dispelling some of the myths of

the diamond industry. His

thrust was to debunk erroneous claims being made by some North American diamond merchants who do not distribute uncut diamonds through the London-based Central Selling Organization (CSO). (The CSO is to diamonds what OPEC is to oil.)

“He gave me a helluva education on the diamond industry,” said Currie. While tight-lipped about findings in Alberta, De Beers’ review published in 1991 about exploration in Alberta spoke of no significant discoveries. However, the review says that some preliminary prospecting results will be followed up in 1992.

Lamont said this was only a preliminary visit to the province for him to gain a greater understanding of the Canadian economy and lifestyle. New geological and geophysical techniques, combining aerial and ground-level surveying, has yielded more accurate information about the existence of kimberlite pipes throughout the Prairies and the Northwest Territories, according to Currie. That would explain the size of claims being staked, when considering new aerial techniques.