Thursday February 18, 2:59 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
BHP Diamonds Inc. and Dia Met Minerals Ltd.
Announce Opening of Yellowknife Sorting and
Valuation Facility
KELOWNA, BRITISH COLUMBIA--BHP Diamonds Inc. and Dia Met Minerals Ltd., are pleased to announce that construction
of the Sorting and Valuation Facility, located at the Yellowknife Airport, is now complete.
The facility is the first of its kind in North America and was constructed and commissioned in 4 1/2 months on schedule, within
budget and with no safety or environmental incidents. Government valuations for royalty purposes, which were previously condu
cted at the Ekati(TM) Diamond Mine, will now be carried out at the facility.
Initial employment at the facility is expected to be about fifteen persons.
Establishment of the facility was part of an understanding between BHP Diamonds Inc. and the Government of the Northwest
Territories (GNWT), announced on April 29, 1998. The understanding also addressed matters relating to the potential for
manufacturin g of rough diamonds from the Ekati(TM) Diamond Mine. A number of proposals for local manufacturing have been
received and additional proposals are anticipated. BHP Diamonds Inc. will review these proposals in consultation with the GNWT,
with a view to
selecting its local manufacturing customers over the next several months.
BHP Diamonds (51 per cent), Dia Met (29 per cent), and two geologists, Charles E. Fipke (10 per cent) and Stewart Blusson (10
per cent), developed the Ekati Diamond Mine which is located in the Lac de Gras area of the Northwest Territories, about 300 km
northeast of Yellowknife.
Contact:
Dia Met Minerals Ltd.
Gerald Prosalendis
Manager, Investor Relations and Corp. Communications
(250) 861-8660
(250) 861-3649
Website: www.diamet.com
or
BHP Diamonds Inc.
Graham Nicholls
Manager, External Affairs
(867) 669-9292
(867) 669-6724
PHIL |
