Diamonds Snapshot: Eight Canadian companies ready for discovery

After a difficult 2020 that saw a near shutdown of the diamond market for half the year as a result of pandemic-related travel restrictions, diamond prices have bounced back in 2021. Here’s a look at eight active Canadian-listed diamond explorers and miners who’ve made it through the trough and are preparing for the upturn.

Arctic Star Exploration

Arctic Star Exploration (TSXV: ADD) has unearthed four new kimberlites this year at the Diagras joint-venture project, 22 km north of the Diavik diamond mine in the Northwest Territories.

The junior’s $2.1 million spring drilling program concluded in May, and resulted in the discovery of the Birch, Sequoia, Alder and Cedar kimberlites. The company also intersected a 50-cm-wide kimberlite dyke 55 metres east of Birch. Coarse-grained olivine and abundant mantle derived indicator minerals have been observed in the volcanoclastic kimberlites.

Diagras also contains 23 kimberlites previously discovered by De Beers.