Canada next diamond producer, De Beers director concedes

It would appear that the Northwest Territories diamond play finally has been accepted by industry giant De Beers Consolidated Mines.

Speaking at a recent mining luncheon in Toronto, George Burne, a London-based diamond trading specialist and De Beers director, conceded that “Canada will become the 21st diamond-producing nation in due course.” He said the world is ready to accept a new producer but cautioned that diamond markets are still recovering from the global recession and that they, like any other business, obey the laws of supply and demand. Although De Beers diamond stocks have increased in recent years, Burne said new markets are emerging and demand will likely stay ahead of gross national product growth. However, De Beers is hedging its bets through aggressive marketing and advertising campaigns which cost US$180 million per year. In his address, given at a joint luncheon of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum and the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada, Burne debunked many of the myths and fables that surround the diamond industry.

One such myth is that De Beers does not want partners. In fact, he said, the company operates with partners around the world, the largest being the government of Botswana.

Two other myths are that all diamonds are produced in South Africa and De Beers is the only world supplier. In fact, only 12% of world production comes from that country and De Beers produces only half of the world’s supply.