Found in today's news:
Thursday, October 22, 1998
Stone cutters rush to N.W.T.
By DAN HEALING, EDMONTON SUN
It's a diamond rush.
Several cutting and polishing firms are lining up to start operations in the
Northwest Territories, following the lead last month of B.C.'s Sirius
Diamonds Ltd.
"There's a lot of interest out there," said Martin Irving, director of
diamond projects for the N.W.T. government, yesterday.
"Sirius is the only one that has been approved at this time. But there are
other applications in the works.
"Some are close to the stage where a decision could be made.
"In terms of written proposals, we've probably got between five and 10."
Last month, the N.W.T. government announced that it had agreed to give
Sirius a five-year loan guarantee of at least $5 million, plus training and
wage subsidies worth $690,000 and an equipment fund of $250,000 so that
it can process rough stones from the $1-billion BHP Diamonds Inc. mine.
One of the new proposals is from a company called Ice Diamonds, which
has a deal with the town of Hay River, located just north of the Alberta
border, to operate a facility there by early 1999.
"The new company intends to be operational early in the new year and
will initially hire 15 diamond technician trainees plus support staff," a
release from the town states.
Mayor Jack Rowe was not available for comment.
Ice Diamonds is being headed by Barney Schumacher of Schumacher
Diamonds in Bismarck, North Dakota.
Irving said anyone can apply to the government for assistance, provided
they have a legitimate business plan and meet other requirements.
He said the partnership agreement between the government and BHP can
be extended to other manufacturers.
"The level of support the company would get from the N.W.T. is related
to the benefits that northerners get."
BHP spokesman Graham Nicholls indicated last month his firm agreed to
sell diamonds to Sirius only after being threatened with tax hikes by the
N.W.T. government.
It was reluctant to sell diamonds in relatively tiny amounts. Sirius will
need only 24,000 of the annual output of 3.5 million to four million carats
from the mine.
"We're going to be making rough (diamonds) available to manufacturers
locally providing market prices apply and the provision of the supply
doesn't unduly interfere with the supply of our other markets," said
Nicholls.
He said small manufacturers can approach BHP directly if they don't
require support from the N.W.T. government.
Just another piece in the puzzle.
PHIL |
