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EXPLORATION IN CANADA
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Diamond exploration activities by De Beers in Canada started in the early 1960s. However, it was not until the 1980s that a more systematic approach to exploration was adopted and that a permanent presence was incorporated with the establishment of De Beers Canada Exploration Inc. (previously known as Monopros Limited), a wholly owned subsidiary of De Beers.
De Beers carries out widespread exploration activities throughout Canada and activities to date, in some cases with joint venture partners, have led to the discovery of more than 230 kimberlites in 12 different areas of Canada, over half of which carry diamonds. On average only one in every 200 kimberlites discovered contains a sufficient number and value of diamonds to become a mine, and very often these kimberlites are located in remote areas of extreme climate or in regions of high perceived business or political risk. De Beers Canada in the last decade has found kimberlites in each year of operation.
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De Beers has injected a substantial investment into Canada in recent years, devoting over $15 million for exploration in Canada in 2007. Exploration programs are now underway in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.
To date in Canada, De Beers has collected tens of thousands of sediment samples, flown over 1,000,000 kmē of airborne geophysical surveys and using an electron microprobe, have analyzed approximately a half million indicator mineral grains. Extensive use is made of the De Beers dedicated laboratories in South Africa where microdiamond recoveries, age dating of kimberlites and trace element mineral chemistry studies are undertaken and can be compared by in-house consultants against comparable data from De Beers' own producing mines.
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