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De Beers carves out a Canadian foothold
Snap Lake, July 23: In Canada`s barren northern lands, the leading name in diamonds is carving a foothold in the world`s fastest-growing diamond market. De Beers, the African powerhouse synonymous with diamonds for more than a century, has built an airstrip from crushed rock on the frozen table-flat tundra. Huge fuel storage tanks, generators and buildings where diamonds will be extracted are connected by a network of insulated piping.
Snap Lake, July 23: In Canada’s barren northern lands, the leading name in diamonds is carving a foothold in the world’s fastest-growing diamond market. De Beers, the African powerhouse synonymous with diamonds for more than a century, has built an airstrip from crushed rock on the frozen table-flat tundra. Huge fuel storage tanks, generators and buildings where diamonds will be extracted are connected by a network of insulated piping.
Pre-fabricated offices and sleeping quarters for workers stand next to piles of crumbled green kimberlite rock that contain the precious gems.
It is new territory for De Beers, whose African model for mining and operating is sometimes at odds with the way things are done in Canada’s near Arctic.
De Beers, whose parent is Anglo American and is based in Johannesburg and London, has faced a quagmire of environmental and social scrutiny that has delayed the opening of Snap Lake by two years to ’06.
Once the symbol of colonial prestige and dominance—founder Cecil Rhodes raised a private army to protect his African interests—De Beers has tried to shed its image as a cartel in recent years by redefining its role.
That change brought it to the rocky shores of Snap Lake, its first mine outside Africa, in the desolate Northwest Territories below the Arctic Circle. In recent weeks, a thin sheet of crusty ice reflecting off Snap Lake is the last reminder of the long winter that just ended. Bureau Report
It is new territory for De Beers, whose African model for mining and operating is sometimes at odds with the way things are done in Canada’s near Arctic.
De Beers, whose parent is Anglo American and is based in Johannesburg and London, has faced a quagmire of environmental and social scrutiny that has delayed the opening of Snap Lake by two years to ’06.
Once the symbol of colonial prestige and dominance—founder Cecil Rhodes raised a private army to protect his African interests—De Beers has tried to shed its image as a cartel in recent years by redefining its role.
That change brought it to the rocky shores of Snap Lake, its first mine outside Africa, in the desolate Northwest Territories below the Arctic Circle. In recent weeks, a thin sheet of crusty ice reflecting off Snap Lake is the last reminder of the long winter that just ended. Bureau Report