Daniel Bettino   September 16, 2014

Current Event        Quarter 1

"Diamond Mines in Canada." Canadian Diamond Mines: The Surprise in Northern Canada. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2014. <http://geology.com/articles/canada-diamond-mines/>.

Summary: Diamonds in Canada? Who knew? Those two sentences sum up this current events article fairly well. For years, all the way throughout the 20th Century, diamonds were traded in Europe and excavated from Africa, and no one really thought of Canada as an important producer of diamonds. However, they have proven to be quite worth of their claim. It all began in 1991, when two geologists found evidence of a diamond-bearing pipe in the far north of Canada. It was developed soon after the pipe was found and in 1998, Canada presented its first commercial diamond. Soon thereafter, many prospectors ran to stake their claim in northern Canada. By 2006, Canada was the third largest diamond producer in the world, producing over 13 million carats of gem diamonds. But what makes Canadian diamonds special? They are of very high quality and the people there are very excited to support their country’s own diamond distribution. Also, Canadian diamonds are branded with the signature maple leaf. They are unique, and that is why they are special and why they sell so well in the market.

Canada now has many diamonds constantly pumping out diamonds around the clock. Among these many mines are the EKATI Mine, which was the original shaft that led to the first diamond, the Diavik Diamond Mine, which was the second mine to produce diamond and is located a mere 120 miles south of the Arctic circle, the Jericho Diamond mine, which is just 70 miles south of the Arctic Circle, and the Snap Lake Diamond Mine, which instead of having a vertical descent follows a dike about 12-15 degrees steep.

The Canadian diamond business is brutal. Being so close to the Arctic Circle, the weather is unbearably cold. Often times the temperature will drop below -40 degrees! The workers must persevere through the cold and uncomfortable conditions if they want to hit paydirt. Also, being anywhere from 70-150 miles north of the nearest city, Yellowknife, the mines are extremely remote. There is a short 6-10 week area where supplies can be delivered by “Ice Road,” and otherwise they must be delivered by air. Both ground and air transportation are extremely dangerous, as the high winds, snow, and icy conditions make flying and landing difficult, and the Icy Roads make driving nearly impossible to a non-expert with loads of experience. Secondly, because travel is so dangerous and because the mines are so remote, travel back and forth to cities is scarce. A 120 mile commute through high winds and on icy roads every morning doesn’t really make too much sense. Because of this, lodging must be provided on-site. Workers work almost round the clock, and then stay in shabby dorm type rooms to sleep in. They stay there for long periods of time, often resulting in sleep deprivation and loss of work ethic. Lastly, Canada, being much more wealthy than Africa as a whole, has much higher pay and wage for workers. Money is being spent on the workers, and some say that not enough money is going into the actual mining. Because the mines are being depleted so quickly, they are being filled in and reused, which requires underground mining, which costs much more money and is much more dangerous. Although mining was hugely successful at first for Canadians, currently diamond mining is in a decline. It will continue to do so unless another big find is discovered. Unfortunately, we do not know if that will happen.

Connection: Diamond is one of the most valuable resources in the world. People say that another diamond exporter and producer is always welcome in the world. Canada, being the big country that it is, has the opportunity to become even bigger in the diamond market. The Earth’s resources are currently being depleted, and diamond is being diminished with it. However, Canada may be the big solution. Some do not realize Canada’s sheer size. Canada is MASSIVE. It is very well possible that diamond is tucked away in other locations in Canada, not just in the Northern sectors. However, if a new find is to occur, now would be a good time for it to be discovered. As I said before, Earth’s resources are diminishing, and diamond, being so valuable, is huge for the success of the planet and the life of humans. Canada is therefore doing their best to continue the search for the strong rock, and is opening up a new mine, the Gahcho Kue Diamond mine, which, some say, is going to be a huge profit. If diamond is found within more countries’ borders, the Earth will be in much better shape. It seems that currently Canada is doing its best to contain the resources we have on Earth. If all countries would work together (which will never happen because the world is so messed up), we might be able to change something. Hopefully, Canada will start something, and it won’t just be a new diamond mine. It will be the idea of national unification.

Critique: I have long found Diamonds thoroughly interesting. In turn, I enjoyed this article thoroughly. However, that is not to say there was nothing wrong with it. I liked how this article included both sides of the story. It told of the good, how Canadian diamond mining prospered in the early stages. It told of the bad, how although it did have its boom, it is now declining. It also told of how physically brutal the Canadian diamond mining process is. Sure, you are getting paid more than an African miner, but the conditions are both physically and mentally altering. As I stated earlier, staying away from home for long periods of time takes a toll on your work ethic. However, I felt that this article could have delved more deeply into specifics. The descriptions of the mines were at times subpar, and could have been improved. This could have been easily bettered by including more exact location, adding how many diamonds are produced each year from that mine, what year it was created, if production has increased or decreased over the years, and things of that nature. However, I really did enjoy this article, because I feel that not only me but our whole country is quite disconnected from Canada, despite them being so close to us. This article offered me insight on something that I honestly didn’t know existed. When you put how big the world is into perspective, and how close we are to Canada, that is quite frightening. However, I enjoyed this assignment because I learned something new about the world today, which I believe was the intended purpose of the assignment.