Diamond processing expands to keep pace with exploration.

Saskatchewan's evolving diamond industry continues to experience steady growth, generating jobs and business opportunities.

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Saskatchewan exploration activity has grown monumentally since 1998, when annual spending was just $1 million. Diamond exploration expenditures were $98.8 million in 2006, not far off the amount spent on uranium exploration, and about 200 people are now employed in the industry in Saskatchewan.

The most intense exploration activity is focused on two ventures operated by Shore Gold and its subsidiary, Kensington Resources, in the Fort a la Corne area east of Prince Albert. More than $100 million has been budgeted on adjacent, advanced-stage exploration projects in the area.

The proponents are optimistic about these sites, and with good reason. Tens of thousands of micro diamonds have been recovered and a growing number of macro diamonds weighing nearly 20 carats have been discovered.

Exploration is not confined to these promising sites, however. In fact, most of the 3,200 currently active mineral dispositions in the southern mining district were acquired for diamond exploration. One major cluster is between Green Lake and Big River, with other sites near the Primrose Lake Air Weapons Range in west-central Saskatchewan, and in southern, southwestern and east-central Saskatchewan. Further north, in the Precambrian Shield, sites are being studied in the Foster Lakes region.

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With large volumes of ore samples being generated, solid opportunities exist in processing and analysis. Saskatchewan's diamond support service has grown in lock step with exploration activities. The expertise gained has allowed the geo-analysis sector to serve local companies and to reach out to clients outside the province. Consequently, Saskatoon's new diamond facility is now one of the largest micro diamond labs in the world.

A main factor supporting the rapid growth of this sector has been a focus on quality service. Saskatoon's secure micro diamond recovery facility achieved ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation in 2004, making it a one of a kind in North America.

Quality service is supported with substantial investments in human resources, a necessity with the staff growing five-fold in the last three years. It also provides very high levels of security--a must in this industry--with all services contained under one roof.

The Saskatoon facility has just completed a major expansion, which effectively doubles its capacity for diamond analysis. It has also added a DMS (dense media separation) plant. This makes it possible for the lab to process larger samples, the next stage in industry development.

Prior to adding the DMS plant, Saskatchewan's geoanalytical sector had been limited to processing typically one- to two-tonne ore samples. Finding micro diamonds in these small samples proves that the deposit has potential to produce larger stones. However, since large diamonds are rare, the odds of finding them in small samples are low.

A DMS plant can sort thousands of tonnes of ore. The plant takes advantage of the high specific gravity of diamonds to separate them from lighter material. The rock is crushed, de-slimed, and screened to remove fine material. It is then combined with a dense medium and run through a cyclone that separates the heavy material in the sample.

In some cases, further methods may be required to help to identify the diamonds, including microscopic rays, grease tables, optical sorting or a caustic process, as well as hand sorting for final recovery of the stones.

The presence of well-developed geoanalytical services helps to drive diamond industry growth. A full range of other mining services is also in place to support this new major mining industry in Saskatchewan, from exploration through mining to analysis, environmental management, modeling and decommissioning.

Paul Labbe is Vice-President of Mining and Minerals at the Saskatchewan Research Council.