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Post by azesm on Aug 1, 2004 11:10:19 GMT -5
Link: atlas.gc.ca/maptexts/subtopic_texts/english/historical_e.htmlFormation of Diamonds Diamonds form at a depth greater than 150 kilometers within the earth. They have crystallized, probably episodically, throughout the formation of the earth. Diamonds form in distinctive parent rocks. That also includes several characteristic minerals. Those minerals are very important as indicators in diamond exploration activities. After their formation, diamonds are carried to the surface of the earth by strong volcanic activity. This mixture of magma, transported rock and diamonds forms pipes called kimberlites as it reaches the surface. What are Kimberlites? Definition Kimberlites are the rock formation where diamonds can be found. The name kimberlite comes from the town of Kimberly, in South Africa, considered, last century, as the world center for diamond mining. Kimberly was the site of the first diamonds found in a rock. Kimberlites are classed as a variety of potassic volcanic rocks, and consist of minerals, rock fragments and magmatic components. The matrix that makes up kimberlites contains olivine, phlogopite, carbonate, serpentine, diopside, ilmenite and several other minerals. Kimberlites also contain fragments of the upper mantle rocks. Example of kimberlite breccia (Source: Terrain Sciences Division, Geological Survey of Canada) Size and Shape The size of a kimberlite is rather small. Its surface covers an area between less than 0.5 hectare and 150 hectares. A kimberlite is composed of three parts: the roots, the diatreme and the crater. Located at about two to three kilometers below the surface, the roots make up the bottom part of the kimberlite pipe. Their shape is irregular with a vertical extent of about 0.5 kilometers. The diatreme consist of the middle part of the kimberlite and contains the bulk of the pipe. This is where most of the diamonds can been found. The vertical extent is about one to two kilometers. The third part of a kimberlite is the crater. This upper part of the pipe, located at the surface, is the eruptive volcanic crater. Formation Kimberlites are emplaced by a gaseous explosion. Within the magma, a large amount of dissolved gas is present under great pressure. A few kilometers below the surface, these gases expand as they approach the surface, causing explosions. Those explosions generate a very rapid ascent of the magma through the mantle. The speed increases near the surface and can reach several hundred kilometers per hour. As the magma penetrates crustal rock, the pipe widens to a conical shape, and becomes a kimberlite pipe. The expansion of the gases rapidly cools the magma and as a result, few thermal reactions occur. The temperature, being sufficiently low in relation to the pressure, allows the diamonds to resist conversion to graphite, and to remain intact. Location of Kimberlites The geographical distribution of kimberlites is not random. The factor that governs the location of kimberlites is the thickness of old rocks located at the core of continents. These old cores are called Archean cratons, rocks older that 2.5 billion years. These cratons have reached stability and gone through very little deformation for a prolonged period. Kimberlites are concentrated in the portion of Earth's crust where these cratons are located. Kimberlites occur in clusters of several pipes, and the pipes in a cluster are typically at most tens of kilometers apart. In Canada, the continental landmass covers one of the greatest extents of Archean craton in the world. Old stable cratons underlay the Canadian Shield, as well as in the Northwest Territories (Somerset Island and Mackenzie Mountains), Alberta (British Columbia - Alberta Rocky Mountains area), Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. All these areas offer a highly prospective geological environment for diamonds. Erosion of Kimberlites Most kimberlites have been partly eroded by the action of earth surface processes. As the erosion progresses, the kimberlite releases material, including diamonds. The released material is washed away into secondary deposits called alluvial deposits, such as river gravel, beach terrace, and even off-shore marine deposits on the sea floor. Water, ice and gravity act as the means of transportation. If the concentration of diamonds is high enough, these secondary deposits can become economically profitable for diamond exploitation. However, the primary source is the kimberlite itself. Last century, in Africa, diamonds were found in alluvial gravel, and later, in shoreline deposits and offshore marine gravel. During the 1860's, the first discoveries of diamonds in the rock that became known as kimberlite brought geologists and diamond explorers to understand that diamonds were derived from kimberlites, and the diamonds found in gravel, have been washed from this source. The presence of an alluvial secondary deposit implies the existence of a kimberlite pipes upstream in the drainage area. In North America however, this conclusion does not apply because the advancing glaciers have dispersed the material that was eroded before and during the glaciation during the Ice Age. In this case, the kimberlites are located «up-ice»: independently of the actual drainage basin area. Until Professor W.H. Hobbs of the University of Wisconsin recognized this process in 1899, it remained a mystery why no diamond deposits of commercial importance had been found in Canada. |
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Post by azesm on Aug 1, 2004 11:13:35 GMT -5
Historical Facts
* 1863: A Diamond was found in glacial debris in Ontario
* 1920: A 33-carat diamond was found during the construction if a railway track, near Peterborough,Ontario
* 1960's: Discovery of small diamonds was reported east of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.
* 1971: A 0.25-carat gem quality diamond was discovered in the glaciofluvial sediment of an esker, near Timmins, Ontario.
* 1981: Diamond indicator minerals were found near the Mackenzie Range at the Yukon/Northwest Territories border.
* September 1989: Diamond exploration efforts intensified in the Northwest Territories. Very high concentrations of diamond indicator minerals were found in the Lac de Gras area, which suggested the location of a diamondiferous kimberlite pipe.
* Following this discovery, an unprecendented surge in exploration for diamonds happened in Canada. For the first time, major diamond exploration companies faced competition from a number of small, but technically proficient, exploration companies.
* October 14th 1998: BHP Diamonds Inc./Dia Met Minerals Ltd. announced the official opening of Canada's first diamond mine: the Ekati Diamond Mine, Lac de Gras area, in the Northwest Territories.
Question:
From the first diamond discovery in Canada to the opening of the first diamond mine, why did so much time pass?
Answer
* Most kimberlites are well hidden under a thick blanket of glacial material or under lakes
* The occurrence of several glacier advances that moved the eroded sediments in several different directions, independently of the landscape.
* The complicated ice flow routes make mineral indicators difficult to trace.
* Time needed for the development of new techniques and technologies, such as heavy mineral processing, petrology, geophysics, etc.
* Difficulties in finding and putting together a team with all the different expertise needed to perform all the necessary analysis.
* Time needed to sample the terrain: Canada is a very large country.
* Time needed to perform all the series of studies and analyses.
* Difficulties in finding money needed to finance such exploration.
* Requirement to perform several environmental studies and negotiate agreements with all stakeholders involved.
All these factors were obstacles, the quick realization of a project such as the exploitation of a diamond mine in Canada.
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Post by azesm on Aug 1, 2004 11:20:42 GMT -5
Evaluation of the Diamond Content of a Kimberlite Kimberlites are not all diamond bearing or economically viable. When a kimberlite is found, it is necessary to evaluate its diamond content: concentration (carats per ton), the size of the deposit, and also, the size and the quality of the diamonds. These two last characteristics are important to know because in the diamond mining industry, the product is valued in term of individual pieces. In a kimberlite, there is a relationship between the quantity of diamonds and the abundance of fragments from the mantle host rock where diamonds form. To determine diamond content, tons of rock are collected from the top of the pipe and processed. If diamonds are found, drilling and petrological examinations will give the extent of the deposit and information about the diamond content. Between 5 000 to 10 000 carats of diamonds are needed to fully evaluate a deposit. A diamond concentration that would allow an economic development of a mine would be around 0.5 carat per ton; a very good one would be in the range of 2 to 4 carats per ton. The distribution of diamond size and quality also need to be determined to be able to select a development strategy like surface excavation or underground mining. atlas.gc.ca/maptexts/subtopic_texts/english/historical_e.html |
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Post by azesm on Aug 1, 2004 11:21:29 GMT -5
Ekati Diamond Mine, First Diamond Mine in Canada On October 14th 1998, the Ekati Diamond Mine, located in the Lac de Gras area, officially opened. «Ekati» is a native language word for «fat». White quartz rock is found in abundance in the area where the new diamond mine is located. Dogrib and Dene elders compare the white veins that run through the rock to caribou fat. In native culture, caribou fat is seen as a symbol of great value. What better name could have been given to the first Canadian diamond mine? The Ekati Diamond Mine is a joint venture of the Canadian partners Charles E. Fipke, Stewart Blusson and DiaMet Mineral Ltd. with the Australian company Broken Hill Proprietary (BHP) Diamond Inc. This story began in 1981 when the geologist Charles Fipke found diamond mineral indicators in the Mackenzie Range at the Yukon / Northwest Territory border. As the exploration continued through the years, an extremely high concentration of diamond indicators were detected in 1989 in the Lac de Gras area, suggesting the location of a diamondiferous kimberlite pipe. Later, in 1991, diamonds were discovered in a sample taken at Point Lake. After more sampling and analysis, a Federal environment review process was initiated in late 1994 and an Environmental Assessment and Review Panel was formed. It was recognized that particular attention needed to be brought to the environment because of the fragility of this land. The Ekati Diamond mine is located in the barren land of the Northwest Territories about 300 kilometers Notheast of Yellowknife. Dwarf birch, willows, water sedges, cotton grasses, green alders, Labrador tea and many species of berries cover this land. Despite its cold climate, this sub-arctic area provides habitat for several mammal species. Caribou herds migrate through the area each spring and fall. Grizzly bears, red and arctic foxes, wolves, wolverines, arctic hares, ptarmigans and ground squirrels share the land. In the numerous lakes located within the claim area, swim trout’s, arctic graylings, round whitefish, longnose suckers and slimy scupins. Golden and bald eagles, hawks, peregrine falcons, short-eared owls, perching birds and waterfowl are also part of the local fauna. Beside the environmental studies, several agreements were signed with the federal and territorial governments and with native groups. Provisions under these agreements include, for example, a target of northern resident employment of 62% of the total employment, with an aboriginal employment of half of the northern workforce. Once these agreements were signed, construction started. In this area, long distance roads do not exist, and so surface transportation can occur only from mid January to mid April on a winter ice road. When the ice road is not operational, air transportation takes over. To build the Ekati site, thousands of truckloads of construction material and fuel were shipped on the winter ice road. Diamond exploration and exploitation are very expensive projects. The total investment for Ekati is estimated at $700 million U.S. including all projects costs from the exploration to the start of the production. But the Ekati mine is expected to produce 3.5 to 4.5 million carats of rough diamonds per year, which are about 4% of the current global production by weight and 6% by value. At the Ekati Mine, mining kimberlite, ore and treating material activities are performed. Five separate kimberlite pipes (Panda, Koala, Fox, Sable and Misery) will be open pit mined and later, because of the higher value of their ore; underground mining will be done at Panda and Koala. atlas.gc.ca/maptexts/subtopic_texts/english/historical_e.html |
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Post by azesm on Aug 1, 2004 11:22:00 GMT -5
Properties and Usefulness of Diamonds Diamond is a mineral composed of carbon. Its dense crystal structure makes diamond the hardest substance known. Diamonds are completely transparent to a broad segment of the electromagnetic spectrum, which makes them useful in industrial, technological and scientific applications. Diamonds are also nonmetallic, do not conduct electricity, and have a great thermal conductivity. Diamonds are not only used in the jewelry industry, but are present in many technologies. Diamonds are used for machining plastic, glass and metal pieces necessary in products such as laser printer drums, polygon mirrors, automobile engine pistons, telephone, television, computers, CD players, etc. Diamonds can be made into ultra-hard and smooth cutting knifes and scalpels for extremely precise surgery. Their resistance to wear becomes an asset in automated processes that need to make large number of copies of a same product, without having to replace the cutting tool. Diamonds are also part of dental drills. Their hardness also makes them useful as abrasive and grinding material. atlas.gc.ca/maptexts/subtopic_texts/english/historical_e.html |
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Post by Maleficus on Aug 2, 2004 14:16:43 GMT -5
WOW... unbelievable research. Thanks azesm!!  Mal |
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Post by azesm on Aug 2, 2004 14:32:50 GMT -5
My pleasure.
;D ;D ;D
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Post by azesm on Aug 16, 2004 9:25:25 GMT -5
fastwalker Senior Member member is offline Posts: 149 ekati mine Melivn spoke about..! « Thread started on: Aug 15th, 2004, 9:55pm » <br>Earlier and in previous posts mention Mr. Fike here is his mine, also Iam still of the opinion that Melvin told us about this becasue it is a blueprint for where we are headed...his statement " you people just don't understand..." Melvin come over here we understand very well...... www.edumine.com/ekati/ 66.25.79.105 fastwalker |
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Post by azesm on Aug 30, 2004 12:22:35 GMT -5
fastwalker Moderator member is offline "Everyone has their day,it's just that some days seem to last longer than others." Gender: Posts: 815 Sit on Diamonds..for information « Thread started on: Aug 27th, 2004, 9:02pm » <br> www.amnh.org/exhibitions/diamonds/ 66.25.79.105 Information /opinions contained in this documents are drawn from sources believed reliable and the accuracy/completeness of the document is not guaranteed, nor do I assume any liability..Please do your own DD.. "History is philosophy from example" |
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Post by azesm on Sept 5, 2004 20:43:09 GMT -5
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Post by azesm on Sept 8, 2004 12:05:19 GMT -5
fastwalker
Moderator
Information on Diamonds in Canada..
« Thread started on: Sep 6th, 2004, 11:42pm » <br>
FYI...INFORMATIONAL ....
Diamonds In The Wild
by James Hale
A century after the Klondike Gold Rush, a portion of Canada's North is again booming with activity centred on the stuff of men's dreams. This time, though, the objects of wealth are diamonds, and the challenges associated with turning raw materials into profits are greater than ever.
To listen to the experts on Canada's economy, like Harvard's Michael Porter, is to believe that technology--not natural resources--held the key to our future success. So, how do you account for the explosion in the annual worth of the domestic diamond industry, which has gone from zero to estimates as high as $9 billion in just five years?
The answer lies 200-300 kilometres below the Earth's surface, where a combination of heat and pressure crystallized pure carbon particles into diamonds about three billion years ago.
Diamonds are the pure products of the Earth's evolutionary process. Although they are formed in the upper mantle of the planet's core, where the temperature reaches 1,000 degrees Celsius and the pressure can climb to 50 kilobars, they are carried to the surface by volcanic eruptions of molten rock called kimberlite after the city of Kimberley, South Africa, where the process was first discovered.
Kimberlite volcanoes are not that rare, but only a few pass through diamond-rich areas of the upper mantle with enough force and speed to carry diamonds to the surface. If the volcanic material moves too slowly, the pressure on the diamonds drops dramatically and they revert to graphite. As the molten kimberlite reaches the surface, the gases it contains expand rapidly, creating a massive explosive force as it breaks through. In addition to diamonds, chrome diopsides and garnets are also blown out of the crater, along with boulders, lava and other material. These emerald-coloured chrome diopsides and multi-hued garnets form critical indicators of the potential presence of diamonds.
Indicators are essential because, over time, the site of a kimberlite eruption becomes less obvious, as soft, grey-green kimberlite rock is compacted and weathered. What remains below the surface--deep, cone-shaped fissures called "pipes"--is the key to the future discovery, and recovery of diamonds. These pipes can range in surface area up to 145 hectares. Although an estimated 5,000 pipes exist around the world, only about one per cent is thought to be commercially viable, and just 15 pipes are currently being mined.
Charles Fipke, a Kelowna, B.C., geologist, first started looking for diamonds at the site of kimberlite pipes in 1978, when he was hired in Colorado by Hugo Dummett, who worked for Superior Oil. Numerous sites in North America have been discovered--ranging from Kentucky north to Kirkland Lake, Ont.,--but deposits rich enough to mine commercially had eluded discovery, despite ongoing efforts by the giant De Beers mining company.
By 1979, Fipke was out on his own in his native province, searching near the town of Golden, roughly 210 kilometres northwest of Calgary. His wife's discovery of a large green chrome diopside brought some funding and another B.C. geologist, Stewart Blusson. A longtime employee of the Geological Survey of Canada, Blusson had mapped large sections of the West and knew the Rockies well. Together, Fipke and Blusson located 26 kimberlite pipes near Golden, sealing their resolve to continue their joint efforts, although none of the B.C. pipes were viable.
They followed a trail of leads north to the Mackenzie River, where a De Beers-owned exploration company was prospecting, but by 1982 their funding had run out. Fipke carried on apart from Blusson, founding a company called Dia Met Minerals to raise money on the Vancouver Stock Exchange. His initial share offering was priced below 20 cents a share. Fipke concentrated his new search in an area known as the Slave Craton, just north of Lac de Gras, 180 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife. He established a camp near Exeter Lake and began staking claims, based on the discovery of a rare type of diamond garnet. But he wasn't alone in the area, and secrecy and speed became critical.
In 1990, flying over the area in a helicopter, Fipke spotted a small, round lake that he hadn't noticed before and came to the conclusion that the reason that he had failed to find any kimberlite pipes in the area--despite the overwhelming presence of indicators--was that they had been covered by water following the retreat of the glacier. It was a turning point in Canadian mining.
Needing additional exploration money, Fipke contacted Hugo Dummett, now North American exploration chief for BHP Minerals, a subsidiary of Australia's Broken Hill Proprietary Company. In September 1990, BHP joined Dia Met in an exploration deal, and the pace of work accelerated.
A year later, Blusson rejoined the team, just in time for the exploratory drilling of what was now named Point Lake. On Sept. 9, the drill team broke through into a huge kimberlite pipe. From a 59-kilogram core sample, 81 diamonds emerged. BHP and Dia Met held their cards close for several weeks, but their announcement of their findings prior to the end of the year sparked a torrent of activity in the marketplace. De Beers and a number of junior players cranked up their work in the area, analysts estimated that Canada might be capable of supplying up to one-third of the global gemstone diamond production, and Dia Met's share price soared above $20.
The discoveries weren't over, either; in 1994, a young geologist named Eira Thomas found 138 million carats of very high-grade diamonds under Lac de Gras itself. Her find is estimated at $8 billion in rough diamonds.
But, turning rough diamonds into jewels is a huge undertaking, particularly in an area with a climate as hostile as that of Lac de Gras. The average temperature at the mine site is 11 degrees, with temperatures dropping to 40 in winter. To construct Canada's first diamond mine--named EKATI from the Dene and Dogrib word for "fat lake"--HP and Dia Met trucked in 40 million kilograms of building materials across a 475-km ice road. The project cost almost $900 million before it opened in 1998.
Complicating the project was the fact that the companies were committed to protecting the environment at Point Lake and its other sites to an unprecedented degree. The draining of the lake and the strip mining of its bed must be done in a way that allows it to be returned to its original condition when the diamond supply is exhausted. The federal Environmental Assessment Review Panel approved the EKATI mine in 1996.
more.....
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Post by azesm on Sept 8, 2004 12:05:59 GMT -5
continued.....
Agreements were also necessary with the Northwest Territories government and four Aboriginal groups. As part of these agreements, the mine pays significant benefits to the people of the North--paying, for example, $1.2 million to the Dogrib tribe, and employing more than 475 local people. More than 40 per cent of the employees are Aboriginal.
The EKATI mine and BHP Billiton--the renamed company that purchased Dia Met's share in 2001--also generate significant employment in the North due to the way rough diamonds are processed before they reach the marketplace.
Each day, about 10,000 tonnes of kimberlite are stripped from the bottom of Point Lake, now renamed the Panda Pipe. From this, about 10,000 carats of diamonds are extracted. That's enough to fill a one-litre coffee can, an amount that's worth about $1 million.
Every five weeks, the rough diamonds are flown to BHP Billiton's sorting and valuation centre in Yellowknife, where employees sort the stones according to their value. At that point, Canada Customs inspects the diamonds and values them for taxation purposes. About 65 per cent of the diamonds are shipped to BHP Billiton's marketing office in Antwerp, Belgium. Antwerp has been the traditional centre for the international diamond market for more than a century. Approximately 80 per cent of the world's diamonds pass through the city. Thirty-five per cent go to the De Beers-owned Diamond Trading Company in London, England. Less than one per cent of BHP Billiton's share goes to three cutting and polishing factories in Yellowknife, where veteran and newly trained local specialists perform the work that transforms ancient carbon into jewels that reflect the light and sparkle on the fingers, necks and ears of our loved ones.
Increasingly, diamonds have become branded commodities. One of the three Northern cutting and polishing factories--Sirius Diamonds--laser cuts a polar bear into each gem and has aggressively marketed its Polar Bear brand. Arslanian Cutting Works NWT produces AURIAS (formerly EKATI) brand diamonds for BHP Billiton. The branding is part of a global effort to separate Canadian diamonds from so-called "blood diamonds" that have come from the mines of war-torn or politically oppressed countries in Africa, but for Canadian consumers its also a matter of pride.
Mo Charania's family has been selling diamonds since 1952. He was 11 when his father and two uncles fled Uganda. Re-establishing themselves in Ottawa, the Charanias became one of Ontario's largest jewellers. He has seen phenomenal growth in the sales of AURIAS diamonds in his four stores. "It has been around 15 to 20 per cent a year, and with the awareness of Canadian diamonds has come great excitement, too. About half of the people who know about Canadian diamonds want only Canadian diamonds. You have to remember that people who are buying diamond jewelry are concentrated on beauty and the good feelings associated with the purchase, so knowing that the diamond is a Canadian product is a bonus to them.
"We also get a lot of customers calling us from the United States looking to find out more about Canadian diamonds. I think in those cases it's a combination of the awareness of the very high quality of the gems and the novelty of the new source.
"At this point, with the supply from Canadian cutters and polishers still tight, I just hope that we'll be able to keep up with the growing demand. It's a huge opportunity to build a market for something that is truly Canadian."
Supply may be tight now, but it promises to expand significantly over the coming decade as BHP Billiton brings its Koala and Misery pipes into production and Eira Thomas' large find‚--called the Diavik mine and operated by the British firm Rio Tinto--starts up. Thomas herself is reported to be working a new set of claims in Ontario. Meanwhile, De Beers, which still wields considerable power in the diamond industry despite legal battles in the United States and changing fortunes throughout the trade, has the rights to potentially rich stores of rough diamonds at Snap Lake, southwest of Lac de Gras, and Attawapiskat, south of Hudson Bay.
The thrill of first discovery may have cooled, but the realization of 20 or 30 diamond-powered boom years is just hitting the surface of the Canadian economy like a rush of volcanic kimberlite.
The Underworld Of Diamonds
"Diamonds are nothing more than compressed cash," says Corporal Les Bancroft, one of two RCMP officers assigned to the force's Diamond Protection Service. "Unlike, say, illegal drugs, diamonds are something you can put in your pocket, so they represent a nice, neat way to launder money."
Crime has followed the diamond trade wherever it has gone. Of the 23 countries currently producing diamonds, Bancroft says all admit that organized crime has infiltrated the industry to some degree. "Some countries lose about 12 per cent of what they produce; others lose up to 40 per cent."
Those statistics were well known to the RCMP in the early 1990s, when Charles Fipke and his associates found Canada's first significant cache of rough diamonds under Point Lake northeast of Yellowknife. Three years before the first diamonds were scraped out of the EKATI mine, Sergeant Ray Halwas--now retired --was assigned to become the RCMP's expert in diamond-related crime. He travelled to South Africa, Botswana and Australia to learn from other police forces and industry experts about what Canada was about to face.
He learned that diamond crime falls into six categories:
1. Insertion. That's where criminals seek employment in diamond mines with the intent of stealing rough diamonds.
2. Recruitment. This involves criminal groups coercing existing employees into stealing for them.
3. Opportunistic Theft. When diamonds are stolen during transit along the pipeline from mine to market.
4. Misrepresentation. When illegal diamonds are passed off as legitimate stones.
5. Valuation. When diamonds are under- or over-valued in order to launder money or avoid taxes.
6. Smuggling. When diamonds are smuggled across borders to evade customs duties or disguise the origin of the stones.
In 2001, Halwas, Bancroft and Constable Darrell Robertson were named to the Diamond Protection Service and based in Yellowknife to be close to the source. In keeping with the RCMP's contemporary approach to crime prevention, the new service set out to take a proactive, intelligence-led approach to its job. "We work closely with other police forces, various levels of government and with the industry itself," says Bancroft. "We aggressively share information. Partnerships are key to what we do. The mining, cutting and polishing companies all have their own security personnel, of course, but we're working with them to hold awareness sessions and educate them about how organized crime works.
"At this point, because the diamond industry is so new to Canada, a lot of what we're doing is just letting people know we're here. I think people generally want to do the right thing, and if we can prevent crime by the very fact that we have a presence we're happy with that."
When people don't want to do the right thing, Bancroft and Robertson are ready for that, too. Although he is reluctant to share details, Bancroft says arrests have been made in Canada for diamond-related crime. One problem in pursuing prosecution is that, to this point, Canada does not have laws related to possession of rough diamonds. "What we've seen so far is everything from small conspiracies to involvement by outlaw motorcycle gangs, but we think we've got the jump on these various criminal groups getting a foothold the way they have in other diamond-producing countries."
In addition to diamond crime prevention, the RCMP is also leading the world in developing a system of tracing diamonds beyond the voluntary paperwork that companies like BHP Billiton and De Beers now submit to. Using laser-based technology the RCMP Forensic Laboratories Service is working on a failsafe way of "fingerprinting" diamonds so that information about them can be stored in a database and retrieved in the case of theft or misrepresentation
FW
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Post by azesm on Sept 21, 2004 9:58:43 GMT -5
fastwalker Geologist Video Regarding CMKM Area Geology FYI...INFORMATIONAL ON CMKX...Sorry guys if this was posted already...I haven't seen it and it's pretty cool...turn up your speakers and look in the upper left hand corner for the geologist...enjoy... Geologist Video Regarding CMKM Area Geology « Thread started on: Sep 5th, 2004, 1:00pm »<br> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Geologist Video Regarding CMKM Area Geology This is a video and slide presentation given on January 20, 2004, by John-Paul Zonneveld, geologist, on the geological kimberlite formations in the Fort a la Corne, Saskatchewan Canadian area. Kimberlite is the material, produced by volcanoes, that carries diamonds to the surface of the earth. The Fort a la Crone area is where CMKM-Casavant Mining Company owns the mining rights to 1.9 million acres of land and where the largest diamond-rich kimberlite bodies are found in the world; large than the So. African bodies. Mr. John-Paul Zonneveld talks about the De Beers and Shore Gold diamond operations in the Fort a la Corne area. CMKM-Casavant Mining Company owns the mining-rights to approximately 20-times the land area De Beers and Shore Gold properties, combined. This is very informative. When you are finished listening to this presentation, you will know everything to know about kimberlite formations, diamond formations in Saskatchewan, comparisons between diamonds finds in Africa, Botswana, etc., and the Fort a la Corne area. It is 42.29 minutes in length and well worth watching. www.insinc.ca/onlinetv/cspg20jan2004/FW |
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