Diamond exploration--new piping hot gems found in northeast.

• Author: Ross, Ian
• Position: NEWSMAKERS of the YEAR

The opening of Ontario's first diamond mine in March, will put gems back on the front page, ahead of surging metal prices.

De Beers Canada is investigating the economics of other kimberlite pipes in the Victor mine vicinity that may push diamond production beyond the 12-year life.

The Ontario Geological Survey has documented 29 kimberlites in the James Bay Lowlands, 17 belonging to De Beers. Nineteen of them contain diamonds.

The company was the first explorers into the area, 90 kilometres west of the community of Attawapiskat, discovering the first kimberlite pipe in 1997.

Kimberlite is a host rock for diamonds, which are brought nearer to the surface by old volcanic pipes. The pipes typically occur in clusters.

Discovering a kimberlite doesn't necessarily mean it will bear diamonds, says Gary Grabowski, a Kirkland Lake-based district geologist for the Ontario Geological Survey (OGS).

In recent years, juniors have been staking and drilling near James Bay Victor kimberlite pipe, and southeast to the Kirkland Lake and Temiskaming areas of northeastern Ontario, particularly south of Lake Abitibi, straddling the Quebec border.

OGS has recorded occurrences kimberlite and diamond-bearing rocks in the Kirkland Lake-New Liskeard area since the mid-1990s. The number of diamonds and size of samples recovered are hit-and-miss information because of the secretive nature of the industry.

The most well-known kimberlite is the Lapointe, northwest of Temiskaming Shores where Tres-Or Resources and Arctic Star Diamond are drilling a pilot hole in preparation to eventually extract a 50 tonne mini-bulk sample to test for large diamonds.

So far, they've recovered 31 mostly microdiamonds.

Other companies including Stornoway Diamond Corp., the former Sudbury Contact Diamonds, hold more than 280,000 acres of exploration licences in their Timiskaming Diamond Project in both northeastern Ontario and western Quebec.

Their 95-2 pipe, found in 1995, on the Ontario side of Lake Temiskaming yielded a population of highly commercial diamonds that is close to being economic, says Grabowski.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Temex Resources Corp. is doing active fieldwork on its Wilson Lake and Latchford Diamond projects this year including...